KEY POINTS:
Don't come off the court wishing you had done something, is a message North coach Melissa Walker has drummed into her team all week and one she will continue to preach today when they line up against Auckland Waitakere in the final of the national championships in Palmerston
North.
North last night earned their spot in the final beating Waikato 57-49 in the first semifinal while Auckland Waitakere had an equally comfortable win over Otago 52-31 in the other.
North, who last won the title in 2005, go into this afternoon's final unbeaten. They had the better of Auckland Waitakere 55-51 when the two sides squared off on Thursday.
With both side's possessing lethal shooters - North with Catherine Latu and Auckland Waitakere with Susan Tagicakibau - the match could be decided on defence and who can secure possession.
In last night's match against Waikato, North held a narrow lead in the first two quarters before easing out in the third to lead 41-33.
But it was North's accuracy under the hoop which made the difference. Their combination of Catherine Latu and Megan Dehn put up five less shots than Waikato but landed 57 of their 63 attempts compared to Waikato's 49/68.
"Catherine Latu has to be one of the players of the tournament," Walker said.
"She is getting the shots in and taking some huge knocks. But Megan [Dehn] is an amazing player she just feeds her in the right spots."
When asked about their strategy for the final, Walker said she would be asking her team for more of the same.
A strong second quarter performance set Auckland Waitakere up for their win over Otago.
Leading 15-13 at the first break, Auckland Waitakere scored 13 goals to Otago's five in the second quarter to give themselves a comfortable 28-18 halftime lead.
The Aucklanders were given a scare in the second quarter when instrumental captain Anna Scarlett rolled her ankle and ploughed into the floor boards. But in typical Scarlett fashion she got up, gave her ankle a shake and carried on. She was, however, moved back to goal keep in the third quarter switching positions with Rachel Rasmussen.
Auckland Waitakere, who lost to Waikato in last year's final, were a lot more confident through court than Otago. They were also a lot more accurate under the goal.
Auckland Waitakere coach Paula Bailey said her team had made a conscious effort of rotating players throughout the week which she hoped would benefit them for the final.
Western and Southland will play off for fifth place after wins yesterday. Western beat Canterbury 43-38 and Southland won 42-35 over Wellington.
Western and Canterbury were neck-and-neck in the first half and went to the break tied 20-20. However, Western lifted after halftime to pull ahead and lead by seven goals going into the final quarter.
