Ameliaranne Ekenasio was half of the perfect shooting performance for the Central Pulse. Photo / Photosport
A perfect shooting performance has seen the Central Pulse maintain their perfect start to the ANZ Premiership season.
The Pulse became the first team in ANZ Premiership history to shoot at 100 per cent for the entire game – with Aliyah Dunn (22/22) and Ameliaranne Ekenasio (25/25) combining for the
perfect 47/47 performance in a victory over the Southern Steel.
An in-depth Herald Sport investigation (Read: Tediously opening every historical boxscore on the Premiership website in an avalanche of tabs) showed that today's game – the 154th in the Premiership since it began in 2017 – was the first in which a team didn't miss a shot.
The Pulse needed their shooters to fire as well in what was at times an unconvincing performance, with the Steel coming back from an 18-13 deficit with a seven-goal run to hit the front. The Steel led 24-23 at halftime, and 35-33 with a quarter to play, but as Dunn and Ekenasio stepped up, the Steel's shooters couldn't match them, mustering a paltry five goals in the final period as the Pulse pulled away for a 47-40 victory.
The win puts the Pulse back atop the ladder with a 4-0 record, and they can put distance between themselves and the 4-1 Northern Mystics when they back up tomorrow afternoon with a clash against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic.
