Diamonds 49 Magic 47
An inspired performance by goal attack Maria Tutaia helped the Auckland-Waitakere Diamonds create the upset of the season,beating defending champions and competition leaders Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic 49-47, in Auckland last night.
The Diamond fought back from a four-goal deficit after the first quarter and
a three-goal deficit after the third, to take the match in impressive style. Their performance was an opportunity to silence critics who said they weren't able to put together a four-quarter performance.
Tutaia turned on a match winning show, putting up shots from the exterior of the shooting circle. Despite netting 37 of her 45 shots [82 per cent] Tutaia believed it wasn't her best performance of the season. "I thought that there were a few errors," she said.
Diamond shooter Jo Morrison combined well with Grace Rasmussen at wing attack and centre Victoria Edwards. The Diamonds employed a series of cutting shots slicing the apex of the circle, confusing defenders and allowing Tutaia and Morrison some decent space.
Edwards said she was more than satisfied with the win. She led by example, embarking on some jaw-dropping aerial acrobatics.
"I feel absolutely stoked. The team played a really good game as a real unit and that's how we won," the Diamonds captain said.
The mouth-watering encounter between the Magic's Irene van Dyk and the Diamonds' goal defence Anna Scarlett saw Van Dyk spending most of the game sandwiched between Stephanie Bond and Scarlett, leaving new New Zealand citizen Tanya Lund to put up most of the shots in the fourth quarter. Lund's inexperience against the might of Bond and Scarlett showed - a 56 per cent shooting performance.
Scarlett was visibly frustrated by the frequency of whistle-blowing, although declined to comment on the umpiring. Instead she said: "I think, umpires, they have to control the game. Nobody's perfect."
Magic coach Noeline Taurua was more forthcoming. "There needs to be a consistency of umpiring at both ends," Taurua said.
However, Taurua praised her team, labelling it as "the best performance of the season."
In contrast to her 70 per cent grading of the win against the Rebels last week, she gave her team an 85 per cent rating, saying the final 15 per cent would come with individuals continuing to step up.
"I will be making sure that they are mentally on target [for the next game]."
