Kia Magic secure home semi with gripping final outing
Needing to win by a substantial margin, Kia Magic pulled off the unlikely with an enthralling 68-40 win over the Northern Mystics in Tauranga on Monday.
In a fitting outcome for departing coach Noeline Taurua, in her last outing in her home city, the rearguard second half Kia Magic revival secured home advantage for Sunday’s minor semi-final against Queensland Firebirds in Hamilton.
After a largely forgettable stop-start first half in the final round of the regular season, highlighted by too many basic errors and turnovers by both teams, the defending champions turned on a gripping second half with a huge momentum surge to pile on the goals while also keeping the bottom-of-the-table Mystics to a relatively low margin.
As a result, Kia Magic edged past Firebirds and into third to secure the all-important home court advantage for the first round of the play-off matches.
Coming off four straight wins, Kia Magic retained their winning line-up of recent weeks while Bailey Mes got her third consecutive start at goal shoot ahead of Cathrine Latu in the Mystics starting seven.
Kia Magic made a decisive start before things began to unravel in a disjointed first quarter. Full court defence was evident from the outset as the home team looked to limit Mystics scoring opportunities.
That side of the equation worked well but on attack, Kia Magic struggled on the back of a lack of accuracy and strong disruptive defensive pressure from Mystics. Both Jodi Tod-Elliott for Kia Magic and Kayla Cullen for Mystics were prominent in the opening stanza as the defensive pair picked off a string of intercept ball.
Mystics run of bad luck in an injury-plagued season struck again late in the quarter when Mes was forced from the court with a knee injury, Latu taking her place under the post as Kia Magic hit the first break with a 13-9 lead.
It was an error-ridden restart by both teams with possession thrown away at both ends in a wayward and sloppy opening. Kia Magic found their rhythm on occasion to build on their lead but it was too inconsistent.
Both teams were defensively strong with Mystics contesting everything to make life tough for Kia Magic. The home team made more of their opportunities, the greater accuracy of shooters Irene van Dyk and Ellen Halpenny keeping the visitors at bay as the attack line showed greater signs of consistency.
Mystics gained plenty of ball but low conversion rates did not help their cause as Magic headed into the main break with a none-too-convincing 28-19 lead.
With captain Laura Langman leading an inspiring and much more convincing third quarter, Kia Magic moved up a gear as the momentum and timing returned to the home team’s game.
With quick accurate transition from defence to attack, Kia Magic rattled in a succession of goals, the forward line delivering a more streamlined and consistent supply of ball to Halpenny and van Dyk. The shooters replied with a dominant showing under the hoop, the pair piling on the goals as they outscored Mystics 20 goals to 10 to take a 48-29 lead at three-quarter time.
Kia Magic lifted again for the run home with a withering quarter as attackers and defenders pulled out all the stops in a desperate bid to gain the necessary goal differential for the third versus fourth play-off.
Van Dyk was back to her imperious best with a season high 46 goals from 48 attempts while receiving strong support from the hard-working Halpenny who notched 22 from 24.
