Bay of Plenty were Friday night in party mode in the capital, celebrating a stunning third-place finish in their return to the top tier at the national championships in Porirua.
Coach Mary-Jane Araroa stated pre-tournament she wanted another crack at Wellington in finals week, and yesterday got her wish in theshowdown between the two mid-table teams in division one.
Bay of Plenty trailed for two quarters of the bronze medal showdown, down 25-24 at halftime, but fired up on the run home, leaping to a 39-34 lead at the three-quarter mark and dominating the final quarter.
Goalshoot Arahi Wall snared 33 goals from 40 attempts and was named in the tournament team, with goal attack Harley Smith chiming in with 20 goals.
Wall said Bay pulled their game of the tournament out of the bag when it mattered.
"It was my best game of the season, and to finish third in our first year back in the top grade just tops it all off," the 26-year-old said.
Captain Jodi Tod, who retired after yesterday's game, a couple of months after pulling the pin on another transtasman season with Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, got the sendoff she deserved, Wall said. "We were fired up to play well for our captain and Jodi pulled out a big one, so this result was for her."
Araroa also praised Tod's contribution, saying she commanded the defensive end as Bay snaffled almost twice as many turnovers as Wellington.
"Jodi was outstanding, just fantastic today, and right from the first whistle she came out and was grabbing ball all over the place.
"We didn't do ourselves justice the last time we played Wellington but we've moved from that and the girls just played out of their skins today."
Top qualifiers Canterbury held off a charge from Otago to retain their national title 63-59, while Waikato join Bay in division one next year after a 52-38 defeat of Southland in the promotion/relegation playoff.
