Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel v Stars – Rd 14
July 15, 2024
To pen an old sporting cliché, netball was the winner on the day.
Sport should always invoke a raft of emotions and tonight’s ANZ Premiership game between the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel and the Stars certainly delivered in those stakes, with the latter snatching a 54-53 win.
You betcha we would have preferred the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel to emerge victorious but you can’t fault the intensity and passion from two teams who have languished at the bottom of the competition ladder all season.
Ruled out of finals contention and with a win-apiece after two previous clashes this season, bragging rights were up for grabs and that can prove a powerful motivator.
In a furious back-and-forth battle which kept the crowd alight, it would take a brave pundit to predict the outcome before the final whistle blew.
The lead changed hands multiple times during the match, with both sides racking up five-goal streaks in perceptible swings of momentum. But it was Stars who held their nerve in the final two minutes of a last stanza slugfest to claim their second win of the season.
Despite featuring the right side of the stats sheet with dominant possession, gains and intercepts, Steel was left ruing what could have been.
For Steel captain Kate Heffernan, it was a bitter blow.
“We got some really good momentum and we’d get a good lead and would just follow it with a wee lapse and those are the moments that we want to nail instead so we can push on and extend,” she said.
“That’s what’s so disappointing because we had moments that were so good and we were really putting the foot down and then we’d let it off and let them straight back in to do the exact same thing to us.”
With the Steel’s final game of the season against the Avis Magic on Saturday now doubling as a send off for head coach Reinga Bloxham, who recently announced she was heading the UK to coach the Cardiff Dragons, Heffernan was expecting a packed fortress at ILT Stadium Southland.
“We’ve had awesome crowds down south all season. Again, it has been a tough one but they just keep showing up and it will be so cool if we can get a great crowd for the last game, not just for the girls but especially for Curls,” she said.
“She’s an awesome coach and an awesome lady so we will all miss her and we really want to finish with a strong game for her to end on a high.”
Stars captain Maia Wilson was delighted to snatch the team’s second win of 2024.
“In all honesty I think we actually mucked it up for ourselves – we started off terribly in that second quarter but found our way back,” she said.
“I’m really proud of the resilience, in those critical moments to actually turn up with the ball and keep our composure in that last 20 seconds.”
In contrasting coaching approaches, Bloxham never altered the line-up while her counterpart Kiri Wills made 14 tweaks throughout.
“It was a real arm wrestle of a match and there was a moment when we stopped doing our job and started waiting for someone else to do it – in that one moment, that’s what cost us the game,” Bloxham lamented.
The determination from both sides was obvious from the outset.
Smart vision and confidence bombing long balls into goal shoot Maia Wilson initially paid off for the Stars, who led, albeit by two, for much of the opening quarter. The Stars defence, particularly on the Steel’s centre pass, forced the Steel shooters to come out looking for ball.
There was little in it, though, when Steel capitalised on a defensive rebound to nudge ahead.
But an over-enthusiastic pass that flew beyond the Steel shooting circle and a quick tip from Stars goal defence Holly Fowler ensured the Stars held the advantage, 15-14, at the end of the first break.
Back on court, the Steel upped their defensive efforts, as Stars new goal attack Amorangi Malesala took a while to settle in. And with sharp passing from Kate Heffernan and Serina Daunakamakama in the midcourt, Steel shooters Grace Namana and Georgia Heffernan scored the next five goals.
The Stars made midcourt changes to try to get back into the game, and with Kate Burley in stellar form at goal keep, the momentum changed again in the Stars’ favour. A run of five goals saw the visitors recapture the lead.
Just as Wilson began to take control of the shooting circle, pushing Stars out to four goals in front, Steel’s defence rallied, led by Abby Lawson, and at halftime, Steel trailed by only one.
With Kate Heffernan, Daunakamakama and Renee Savai’inaea winning critical ball in the midcourt after the break, and Namana and Georgia Heffernan shooting more freely, the Steel took another turn in control.
Stars looked to Lili Tokaduadua at goal keep trying to stem the flow, and shooter Monica Falkner at wing attack to provide stronger feeding options. But the changes were slow to make a difference and yet another five-goal run by Steel gave the home side a 40-35 advantage.
But the experience and strength of Malesala and Wilson (who missed just one shot from 39 attempts in the match) got Stars back within two going into the final spell, 41-39.
The return of Burley at goal keep continued the Stars’ fightback, to draw level with 10 minutes left on the clock. But it wasn’t until the last two minutes that midcourt pressure from Stars forced Steel to make a telling turnover, and Malesala strongly converted when it really counted.
Official Result and Stats:
Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel: 53
Stars: 54
Shooting Stats - Steel:
Grace Namana 37/40 (93%)
Georgia Heffernan 16/20 (80%)
Shooting Stats - Stars:
Maia Wilson 38/39 (97%)
Amorangi Malesala 11/14 (79%)
Monica Falkner 5/5 (100%)
ANZ Fans' Player of the Match: Serina Daunakamakama (Steel)
