The Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic will line up in their third successive preliminary final after subduing a spirited Southern Steel 50-42 in the all-Kiwi ANZ Championship netball semifinal in Auckland on Monday night.
In a match that ebbed and flowed throughout, it was the Magic who were better equipped to absorb the pressure. They also proved they had the superior strike power to stamp their authority when it counted in the sudden-death playoff.
Consigning the Steel to their last game of an impressive season, the Magic will meet NSW Swifts in Newcastle on Sunday, in the preliminary final. The winner of that match will take their place in the final against Adelaide Thunderbirds a week later.
There were no surprises in the respective starting line-ups with both coaches opting for their tried and true of recent weeks.
It was a composed and confident start by the Magic, five unanswered goals early on setting the platform. There were good signs from the Magic from the first whistle as shooters Jodi Brown and Irene van Dyk clicked in tandem under the hoop. Precision play between the pair and 100 percent shooting accuracy helped the Magic leap out to a handy advantage.
At the other end of the court, the Magic's defence line put the squeeze on their attacking opponents, who struggled for options. Showing a return to her best form, Casey Williams dominated towering shooter Daneka Wipiiti while a grafting Jodi Tod did the spoiling work on the short ball and England import Jade Clarke showed her growing importance to the team with a strong presence.
It was a dominant Magic who rolled into the first break well in control at 16-8.
The complexion changed dramatically on the resumption, the Steel blasting out of the blocks to score eight goals on the trot as they quickly narrowed the gap back to one.
Stiffer defence from the well-performed Leana de Bruin and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit cut down the supply to van Dyk and Brown while Steel shooters Wipiiti and Megan Dehn lifted their rate at the other end.
Following the lopsided first spell, the southerners certainly had the better of the second stanza, the attempts at goal being even after 30 minutes of play as the Magic went to the main break with a much reduced lead of 24-21.
Looking to add more movement to her front line, Steel coach Robyn Broughton introduced Julianna Naoupu, who has made her mark as a strong impact player this season, for Wipiiti. The move had the desired effect with a lift in movement and creativity coming on attack as the southerners scored four straight goals to level the scores.
A tight, absorbing and tense struggle ensued as the teams went toe-to-toe, the Magic faltering slightly as the Steel looked to have the momentum.
That was short-lived in an up-and-down quarter. A late surge on the back of some slick delivery to van Dyk under the hoop and the exploits of a determined defence line helped the Magic out to a 38-32 lead at the last break.
The Magic put their stamp on a solid effort to shut down any efforts of a Steel comeback in the run home. The southerners ran out of ideas against the ever-reliable efforts of Magic's defensive trio while the movement of van Dyk and Brown prevailed at the other end.
Captain Dehn was an impressive performer for the losers, putting in a huge workload and converting 24 of her 25 attempts at goal.