Netball: Northern Stars stay unbeaten in ANZ Premiership, Mainland Tactix finally win

Stars goal shoot Maia Wilson looks to beat Steel goal keep Taneisha Fifita to the ball during today's game in Takanini. Photo / Photosport

The Northern Stars have continued their statement start to the ANZ Premiership, claiming their fourth win in as many games with a 59-45 win over the Southern Steel.

With the two teams coming into the contest having conceded the fewest goals through the opening three rounds, the defences were expected to play pivotal roles.

While both sides made strong starts and battled out a relatively close first quarter, the platform was laid by the imposing Stars defence of goal keep Anna Harrison and goal defence Elle Temu, who combined for four intercepts and seven rebounds in the game.

In the midcourt, wing defence Lisa Mather complemented the work of Harrison and Temu, while centre Mila Reuelu-Buchanan and wing attack Gina Crampton provided terrific service into the circle for their shooters.

While they didn't shoot particularly well throughout the game, with goal shoot Maia Wilson shooting below 80 per cent and goal attack Jamie Hume converting 71 per cent of her attempts, Wilson led the game in rebounding with eight, taking several opportunities at second-chance goals.

After the game, Wilson credited the side's "kick-ass defence" for the impressive performance.

"I'm really stoked with how those connections are building," she said.

"You just stand there in awe. I think we've got some really outstanding defenders. What you see is really Anna Harrison offloading and inputting her knowledge into our young defenders and it's really great to see that unit working. So it's really nice down the other end; I've just got to consistently put it in the hoop."

For the Steel, goal shoot George Fisher continued her stellar season in the circle, converting 34 of her 37 attempts at goal, while goal keep Taneisha Fifita made things difficult for the Stars shooters.

At the other end of the ladder, the Mainland Tactix finally claimed their first win of the season, beating the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic 63-59.

The Tactix shot out to a 16-9 lead in the first quarter but the visiting Magic stormed back to level the game at halftime, and built a 47-43 lead nearing the end of the third quarter.

However, the Tactix went on a pivotal 5-0 run to wrestle back the lead heading into the final period, and slowly pulled away in the final quarter, with Ellie Bird sinking a remarkable 54 of 55 shots as the Tactix's accuracy proved decisive.

The Tactix jumped to 1-3 with the victory, the same record as the Magic, though the Magic sit a point ahead after picking up a bonus point.

The Central Pulse and Northern Mystics meet in Wellington tomorrow night.