Noeline Taurua: Magic need 'more heart'

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic coach Noeline Taurua wants her team to toughen up and show more heart.
She reckoned her side were "lucky" to win their first ANZ Championship extra time experience last night against Canterbury Tactix.
The 63-56 final score flattered Magic who Taurua said were "soft" in patches, particularly on attack where they allowed themselves to become exposed.
Tactix, whose home game was moved from Christchurch to Rotorua's Energy Events Centre, looked nothing like a team who survived a devastating earthquake and hadn't trained for three weeks.
They gave no quarter while Magic were often hesitant, rewarded when controlled on attack and hard-out on defence but managing both only in patches.
"Tactix did really well considering everything they've been through," Taurua said.
"They put a lot out there, showed a lot of heart and were strong defensively. They were solid and we were soft.
"That heart and tenacity Tactix showed is something I think we're lacking, it's only there in dribs and drabs."
Magic certainly saved the best for last against Tactix and it was their less experienced players who really stepped up.
Julianna Naoupu was outstanding at goal attack, a dominant force, driving to the ball and netting 37 from 41 - excellent back-up for under pressure goal shoot Irene van Dyk.
At the defensive end, Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick was relentless against the hugely experienced Donna Wilkins and combined well with Casey Williams to put the Cantabrians under pressure and force errors.
Meanwhile, lanky Jess Tuki was in the still unfamiliar role of wing attack with Frances Solia "on leave". Tuki acquitted herself well overall, working hard to make herself available through the court and showing good vision at times to fire the ball in to the shooters.
"Wing attack is so different from goal attack so it's about trying to get the lines and timing right. I feel it's coming - it's not fully there yet but I'm working hard on it ... getting a whole game was a real confidence booster," the 23-year-old said.
With less than a minute before full time, Tactix had the chance to sink the winning goal but fumbled it, sending the ball to the other end where Magic did the same.
Those missed chances left the scored at 47-all and sent the game into extra time.
Magic edged out to a 55-53 lead at the end of the first seven minutes, taking control with a concerted effort in the final spell.
In last night's other game, NSW Swifts produced a final quarter rally to squeeze past West Coast Fever 55-51 at Sydney Olympic Park.
Swifts trailed at each change and by as much as six in the second quarter.
NSW shooter Susan Pratley (33/40) nailed some clutch shots down the stretch, as the home side took control.
Fever shot 82 per cent to the Swifts' 70 per cent, but NSW took 16 more shots.
They put up 23 attempts to 10 in the final quarter, as Fever wilted.
The Swifts struggled to get into a rhythm for much of the night with normally reliable shooter and skipper Catherine Cox (22/38) struggling against her taller Australian team colleague Susan Fuhrmann.
Swifts coach Julie Fitzgerald told her players at halftime that she couldn't understand why it took them one and a half quarters to reach the required level of intensity after another slow start.
"We needed to show that if we put the effort in the result would come and in the first half we didn't really," Fitzgerald said.