WBOP Magic power home over Mystics

The Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic confirmed their status as the top New Zealand netball franchise with a masterly 55-46 win over the Northern Mystics in ANZ Championship action in Auckland today.

Composed under pressure, the Magic held their nerve to repel everything the Mystics could throw at them in the opening match of the third round.  A slow start put the home team on the back foot from the outset and while they threatened several times, inaccuracies proved the Mystics undoing.
 
It was a deserved win for the Magic, who showed greater shooting accuracy and the ability to absorb pressure before finishing with a flourish. And it was the visitors who made all the early running in this much-hyped clash as both teams, predictably, went with their strongest line-ups. With 14 current or former Silver Ferns scattered across the court there was plenty to get enthusiastic about and it was the visitors who sent the early signs they were not about to relinquish their mantle.
 
The Magic made the most of a near-perfect start, clinical with their procession through court while also creating a clutch of turnover ball as they strode out to a 6-1 advantage. The growing rapport between shooters Irene van Dyk and Jodi Brown was evident as the pair proved accurate and poised under the hoop. In comparison, the Mystics attackers could not replicate their opponents as they struggled to gain the same accuracy. Threatening at times, they were too often let down by a lack of consistency and errors at vital times as the Magic went to the first break 14-9 ahead.
 
The Magic continued their dominance with a withering start on the resumption to stretch out to a 10-goal lead before the Mystics hit back in the second stanza. Finding the well-performed Cathrine Latu with more frequency, the home team chipped the deficit back to four. Through the midcourt, the Mystics Temepara George and her opposite Laura Langman had an epic struggle as the intensity and physicality lifted.
 
Shooting accuracy and errors continued to thwart the Mystics challenge with Casey Williams prominent in the rebound stakes for the visitors as the Magic ended the quarter as they started it. In dominant frame, van Dyk put the seal on a strong passage with a basketball style lay-up on halftime to propel the Magic to a comfortable 29-21 lead at the main break. The introduction of teenage defender Kayla Cullen and veteran midcourter Jenny-May Coffin helped the Mystics stay in touch as the home team tightened their defensive screws. On the back of a better supply of ball, Latu and fellow shooter Maria Tutaia also found their range as the Mystics stormed back.
 
Errors from both teams highlighted a frantic third stanza, athletic Mystics goal keeper Althea Byfield was a constant thorn with her athletic ability under the high ball as the home team rallied strongly. Reducing the Magic to a 40-36 scoreline at the last break, the Mystics set the scene for an exciting run home.