The Avis Magic narrowly lost to Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse in a tense contest in front of a full-house home crowd in Tauranga on Saturday.
With scores tied in the final minute, a super shot from the visitors broke the deadlock putting the final score at 56-54.
The Magic left their best until last in a disappointing season, while the Pulse live to fight another day.
With nothing riding on the match for the Magic, the home side delivered a memorable second half to keep the Pulse’s Finals Series involvement on tenterhooks.
Coming into the last 15 minutes with the scores level, the Magic had their noses in front for much of that time, but ultimately had the match stolen from them in the dying seconds.
Respective shooters Saviour Tui, with 38 from 38, and Amelia Walmsley, 43/43, were standout performers in a tense and pressure-stacked outing.
The opening stanza produced the tightest of contests in a goal-for-goal stand-off.
The Magic employed a shorter style of game where they impressed with their ball retention, while the Pulse found success when looking for the long-range option on attack.
Both sets of shooters returned impressive figures as possession was evenly matched.
The lead changed hands a couple of times before two shots by Ameliaranne Ekenasio gave the home side a 17-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Pulse clicked up a gear with the injection of Whitney Souness, at centre, and Fa’amu Ioane, wing defence, who both missed the previous two matches through concussion and illness, respectively.
With Tiana Metuarau, Maddy Gordon and Souness providing seamless service to Walmsley while lifting their efforts on defence, the visitors bustled the Magic into error.
Central Pulse played the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic on Saturday. Photo / Kerry Marshall, Photosport
Jackson and Gabi Simpson, at goal defence, also did a fine job of restricting the Magic’s strong shooting duo.
An 8-3 run by the Pulse prompted a tactical timeout for the home side who produced a fleeting response during which Georgia Tong got hand to ball while Claire O’Brien was a busy contributor in the midcourt.
The Magic couldn’t get their two-shot working in this phase, with the Pulse picking up the crumbs and building their defensive pressure.
The Pulse nailed their opportunities with Walmsley slotting 31 from 31 for the half to give the visitors a handy 32-27 lead at the main break.
Tension levels rose in the heat of battle as the home side fought every inch of the way.
The connection between shooters Tui and Ekenasio provided the sparkle and motivation under the hoop.
Defensively, the home side added the squeeze at the Pulse’s attacking end with Erena Mikaere prominent as errors crept in for the visitors.
A sell-out home crowd urged the Magic to go all the way as they hit the lead with five minutes of the quarter remaining.
The Magic's Ameliaranne Ekenasio. Photo / John Cowpland, Michael Bradley Photography
A Malesala two-pointer gave the lead back to the Pulse by a tenuous single goal, a furious goal-for-goal exchange in the closing minutes leaving the game wide open when the scores were locked 43-all at the last turn.
The Pulse will now play the Tactix in an elimination final on July 20.
The winner of that match will play the Mystics in the grand final in Auckland on July 27.
With no more matches to play for the Magic, they are now sitting in place 5 of the ladder with 9 points, ahead of the Stars with 3 points.
