Vixens 64 Tactix 49
Firebirds 71 Mystics 54
The Queensland Firebirds completed a weekend of transtasman misery for New Zealand teams, finally opening their 2010 account with a record-breaking win over the Northern Mystics.
After opening their season with three straight losses, the Firebirds cut loose in Brisbane last night, notching up their highest score as the lacklustre Mystics defence struggled to stem the flow of ball in to giant Jamaican shooter Romelda Aiken.
The Firebirds' 71-54 win ensured Australia walked away with the spoils in Rivalry Round, although the trophy was already firmly in their grasp after the Central Pulse, Southern Steel and Canterbury Tactix all fell to their transtasman rivals in round four.
The Tactix were outclassed 64-49 by the Melbourne Vixens in last night's early game in Christchurch, which saw Australia take a 41-goal lead in the cumulative points tally going in to the final match of the round.
The Firebirds' hammering of the Mystics added to New Zealand's humiliation.
Only the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic held up New Zealand's side of the ledger, but they will be far from happy with their narrow win over the young West Coast Fever side.
The Mystics made a very tentative start to their match, taking nearly four minutes to notch up their first goal as they struggled to adjust to the tight one-on-one marking and close contesting of the Australians.
A couple of big turnovers from star import Althea Byfield helped get the Mystics into the game, taking a 7-5 lead.
But the Firebirds soon slotted into a comfortable rhythm as they found easy passage to Aiken, ending the quarter with a mini-scoring burst to take a 15-12 lead at the first break.
An amateur substitution error midway through the second further slowed the Mystics.
The Auckland side looked to inject young defender Kayla Cullen into the game at goal defence during an injury time-out and move Joline Henry out to wing defence.
But captain Temepara George had called the time-out and needed to be involved with any positional changes.
That resulted in a farcical situation where George was forced to take up the wing defence bib and Henry move to centre, before Henry called another time-out to remedy the situation.
While the Mystics were in disarray, the home side crept out to a handy 28-21 lead. The visitors managed to peg that back slightly but still trailed 32-27 at halftime.
The Firebirds eventually raced away with a virtually unassailable 52-38 lead heading in to the final quarter.
