The Central Pulse have arrived in this year's ANZ Championship.
After dropping last week's season-opener 45-44 to the Adelaide Thunderbirds, they bounced back with a 67-56 win over the Southern Steel at the TSB Bank Arena in Wellington today.
This was a game that loomed as one the Pulse hadto win as they looked to build some confidence following last Monday's heart-breaker against the defending champions.
The Pulse started fast and were up 3-0 in the early stages and although the Steel drew level a few times, they never held the balance of power on the scoreboard.
Building on leads and finding a way to close out games has been a problem for the Pulse in recent seasons but they were clinical enough this afternoon.
They were up 18-14 at the first interval and built on their lead during the second as they took a 34-26 advantage with them to the main break.
Steel coach Janine Southby went to the bench during the third quarter as goal defence Storm Purvis and wing attack Gina Crampton were given their chance to help turn things around.
Standing 1.98m, Steel shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid is a tough prospect to defend and the reigning MVP of the league showed why again today as she used her height expertly to latch on to any pass in her general direction and make the resulting shot.
The Pulse were able to limit her impact on the game by defending well around the edge of the circle, while goal keep Katrina Grant did all she could for the Pulse.
The Pulse's shooting circle remains a work in progress given Irene van Dyk and Donna Wilkins' affection for the baseline but when they get there they shoot the lights out and only missed three shots between them today.
Some of the ball being delivered in to the circle missed the mark for the Pulse and it's something that will need to be urgently addressed.
Despite the Pulse taking a nine-goal advantage to the final quarter, the Steel wouldn't quit and started the final stanza at a rapid clip and when they drew within the four the home crowd began to worry.
But wing defence Joline Henry swapped bibs with centre Elias Shadrock following a time-out from Pulse coach Robyn Broughton and Henry helped provide better direction through court.
Ultimately the deficit was too big to overcome for the Steel as the Pulse closed out their first win of the season.
Central Pulse 67 (Irene van Dyk 39/41, Donna Wilkins 28/29) Southern Steel 56 (Jhaniele Fowler-Reid 41/44, Jodi Brown 15/19) 1Q: 18-14, halftime 34-26, 3Q: 50-41
