All six teams took to court in the ANZ Premiership this weekend, as Round 8 was completed.
Here is a recap for you all…
Pulse 46 – 47 Stars
After 60 minutes only one goal could separate Pulse and Stars, with the visitors beating the then league leaders 46-47.
Following a strong start from Stars, Pulse made a third quarter comeback going from being 6 goals down, to just one, leaving everything to play for in the final 15.
The last quarter was everything the match promised it to be, with both teams taking the lead at different points capitalising off each others mistakes, until Stars took the win.
One player that stood out was Stars goal keeper, Elle Temu (New Zealand), who made more interceptions than anyone else (4) against her old Pulse side.
Due to only losing by 1, Pulse were able to take a ‘bonus point’, and move into first place in the league despite the loss.
Mystics 56 – 44 Magic
Pulse didn’t remain in the top spot too long though, as Mystics then took to court and beat Magic 56-44 to replace them.
It was a convincing win for Mystics as they won all four quarters, giving themselves a five-goal lead after 30 minutes and a nine-goal lead after 45 minutes.
New Zealand Silver Fern Grace Nweke converted 47 of her 50 shots for Mystics, making the teams clinical attacking work throughout court worthwhile.
Nweke now sits 2nd in the goals scored chart having shot at an average of 92% this season, with only Pulse’s Aliyah Dunn above her (94%).
Steel 52 – 63 Tactix
The final match of the weekend saw a much-needed victory for Tactix, as they ended their run of three consecutive losses and beat Steel in the southern derby 52-63, to lift themselves off the bottom of the table.
Despite Tactix winning all four quarters, it wasn’t until the final quarter that they began to run away with the game.
At half-time, Tactix led by just four goals but their lead extended throughout the second half thanks to the constant pressure of Silver Fern Karin Burger at goal defence and the first-class shooting from Ellie Bird (92.5%) at the other end.
Coming up…
Round 9 of the ANZ Premiership will start on Saturday 7th May.
To view the full fixture list and recent results, click here.
International fans can watch all the matches live on NetballPass, here.
To remind yourselves of which international players to look out for, click here.
To find out more about the other elite domestic leagues going on around the world, visit our domestic leagues page here.
