Pulse 40 Steel 64
Embattled Central Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie took extreme action to turn around her team's woeful transtasman netball league fortunes last night. It didn't work.
Southern Steel whipped the league stragglers 64-40 in Wellington, consigning the Pulse to their sixth successive defeat this season and their 31st loss in 32 games since the ANZ Championship was launched in 2008.
McCausland-Durie benched her captain Jane Altschwager for the sixth round match, replacing the Australian with young goal shoot Te Amo Amaru-Tibble, in the hope this would somehow spark the Pulse into affirmative action.
But 20-year-old Amaru-Tibble was no cure all, especially when her midcourt could not present her with enough possession to keep pace with the fast scoring visitors, who were fully rewarded for their superior fluidity and creativity.
Unsurprisingly, Amaru-Tibble was a touch tentative to start with as she missed her first, easy shot at goal, but she settled soon enough even if she was not helped by the inability of her feeders to regularly find a way through the staunch Steel defence led by Leana de Bruin and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit.
The outcome of this mismatch was settled early as the Steel raced away to a first quarter lead of 18-9, which they extended to 34-19 at the main break.
McCausland-Durie introduced Altschwager for Amaru-Tibble midway through the third quarter but the die had long been cast, although Amaru-Tibble could feel some satisfaction in her shooting return of 13 goals from 15 attempts before she was reintroduced midway through the fourth stanza to lift her return to 19 from 22.
But by the time she was originally pulled off, the Pulse trailed 21-43, having put up half as many shots at goal as the visitors, who feasted in a regular supply of turnovers gifted them.
By comparison, goal shoot Daneka Wipiiti had a dream ride for the Steel, ending with 34 goals from 40 attempts before being rested for the last quarter as her team improved their record to three wins and three losses for the season, including a 56-44 win over the Pulse on April 5.
The Steel had the luxury of making several personnel changes for the last quarter, with coach Robyn Broughton taking the opportunity to try out alternative combinations.
- NZPA
