Magic goal keep Erena Mikaere was a standout against the Tactix. Photo / Photosport
Magic goal keep Erena Mikaere was a standout against the Tactix. Photo / Photosport
An utterly dominant performance from the Mainland Tactix saw them record their highest ANZ Premiership score against the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in round 10 of the competition.
The 68-51 win was also the Tactix' biggest winning margin in their 14-year history, largely thanks to their commanding 22-11 firstquarter in Nelson on Monday evening.
It was always going to be a tough battle for the Magic, who were without Temalisi Fakahokotau and Grace Kara, two players who have been influential for their team this season.
The impact of these players was sorely missed early when the Magic struggled to feed their shooters and the Tactix consistently found Ellie Bird under the goal, the 1.96m shooter showing no signs of the head knock that kept her out of the competition last week.
Everything was going right for the Tactix, as they stretched their lead to 13 at halftime, Karin Burger proving to Silver Ferns selectors why she should be their first choice goal defence, disrupting the Magic attack and getting her hands to plenty of ball on defence.
The Magic managed a small but valiant fightback in the third quarter, winning the stanza 16-14 and narrowing the margin slightly but, despite a number of impressive individual performances, the team never looked like disrupting the Mainland side's winning ways.
Erena Mikaere was a standout for the Magic, playing one of her best games of the season, finishing her 60 minutes with six gains, five deflections and five clean pickups.
Vice-captain Mikaere was honest when admitting she couldn't pinpoint the reason for a poor first quarter.
"We had a really good preparation and we've been doing well at training so it's really uncharacteristic," she said.
Another blow was dealt to the Magic in the final quarter when Australian goal shoot Caitlin Bassett landed awkwardly and limped off after shooting 32/33 - her only miss coming from a mid-range attempt in the first quarter.
The Magic are still searching for their second win of the season and have six days to recover before their meeting against the Southern Steel on Monday.
The ANZ Premiership ladder is heating up, with the Stars at the top on 25 points, only one point ahead of the Northern Mystics.
The Tactix and the Steel take third and fourth respectively, with only a 0.9 per cent goal difference separating the two teams who both sit on 18 points.
