Wairarapa held the upper hand through most of the second quarter. Their attacking line impressed with the manner in which they retained possession and their through court defence created numerous turnovers. At halftime Wairarapa led 29-25.
The second half became more of a battle royal with Kapi Mana shifting up a gear and ensuring the Wairarapa shooters had to work hard to retain their composure.
"We went into the game knowing that Kapi Mana's physical style of play would test us mentally and, in the main, we held our mettle," Clarkson said.
The relentlessness of the Kapi Mana circle defence did, however, lead to Wairarapa struggling to get into good shooting positions and their accuracy suffered, allowing Kapi Mana to end the third quarter with a 41-38 lead.
It was much the same story in the fourth quarter with Kapi Mana not only defending stoutly but also providing their shooters with more ball and they were quick to capitalise, increasing their advantage to 58-45 by the final whistle.
Reflecting on the performance, Clarkson said it showed the still-winless Wairarapa was developing well as a team and were executing their own game plans better, too.
"All that's left now is to close out, get that right and hopefully the first win will come," she said.
Super league takes a break this week due to the under-19 nationals n Wellington. Eight of the super league sides are involved in this tournament.
