Kia Magic a step closer with win over Vixens
Defending champions Kia Magic took a decisive step towards the finals series with a tenacious 56-51 win over the Melbourne Vixens in Hamilton on Sunday.
In a rematch of last year’s grand final, the fourth-placed Kia Magic again got the upper hand in the all-important clash against the third-placed Vixens. The pair now sits on equal points, Vixens still in third courtesy of goal differential.
Evergreen shooter Irene van Dyk was a standout for Kia Magic, converting 31 goals from 33 attempts and got the better of her old rival Geva Mentor as she reverted to her traditional holding game which paid off handsomely.
There was strong support through all areas from her team-mates in a game where little separated two willing opponents.
There were no surprises in Kia Magic’s starting seven, coach Noeline Taurua sticking with the same line-up of the last four weeks. Vixens opted for the height of Karyn Howarth at goal shoot where she partnered Tegan Caldwell while Jo Curran got the nod at wing defence.
With international talent spread across both teams there was every expectation of a riveting contest and so it turned out. Perhaps because of the enormity of the occasion, the first stanza was highlighted by a number of turnovers. Both teams made nervous starts but it was the visitors who made the early running.
Defensive duo Mentor and Bianca Chatfield were at their menacing best as Kia Magic had trouble breaching the defensive wall. Howarth and Caldwell were the recipients of a more clinical passage through court, the Vixens shooters slotting everything that came their way.
Although stifled in their through court play, Kia Magic’s patience paid off as the team found their shooters with more regularity, van Dyk proving a model of consistency under the home team’s hoop.
The stanza went goal-for-goal, Kia Magic taking the lead for the first time in the last minute to lead 13-12 at the first break.
The impasse continued on the resumption, the tight, tense rivalry showing no signs of abating. The Vixens first miss at goal inspired a rally by Kia Magic who went on to have the slight edge in the second stanza, a four-goal scoring streak pushing them out to a five-goal lead.
Vixens replied strongly with a four-goal run of their own as neither side could gain the ascendancy, both having their moments but unable to sustain. With so little separating the teams, Kia Magic defender Leana de Bruin thrived in the conditions, picking up timely ball to keep the home team’s noses in front.
Vixens midcourters Elissa Macleod and Madison Browne continued to deliver quality ball to their shooters but it was Kia Magic who held sway at the main break to lead 29-26.
Kia Magic pushed out to a six-goal lead during the third stanza where fortunes again ebbed and flowed. The home team kept their slim advantage but Vixens pushed them all the way. Both sets of defenders pulled off a string of turnover ball as the action swung back and forth with torrid defence ruling proceedings.
It became a war of attrition, neither team backing off in an absorbing contest as Kia Magic went to the last break holding their narrow advantage at 40-38.
It was Kia Magic who finished the stronger, making the most of their opportunities to build a five-goal buffer as their attack line moved up a gear. Captain Laura Langman, Khao Watts and Ellen Halpenny lifted their intensity and accuracy while van Dyk delivered under the hoop.
At the other end, despite a clinical shooting effort from Caldwell, Vixens were denied more opportunities through the desperate defensive exploits of de Bruin, Casey Kopua and the unheralded Jodi Tod-Elliott, who did a fine job of containing the dangerous Browne.
