Led by a hungry defensive effort the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel grabbed more than just their first ANZ Championship points of the season.
The Steel were relentless against a Mainland Tactix side for a confidence-boosting 68-54 win in Invercargill as some of their younger stars led the charge for the two key competition points.
It was always going to be a big ask for the Tactix to shut down Steel star shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid but it was at the other end of the court where the visitors struggled most as the defensive combination of Storm Purvis and Phoenix Karaka stole the spotlight.
Karaka was particularly impressive at goal defence where she played three quarters of the game picking up four intercepts and seven deflections.
The defence end was inspired by captain Wendy Frew who was dogged with her efforts outside of the circle and pressured the Tactix into errors.
They showed their intent from the opening whistle and raced out to a 4-1 lead early on as the Tactix struggled to get their own defensive end in order.
The Tactix looked a step behind the pace too often and attracted plenty of whistle in the first 15 minutes prompting coach Sue Hawkins to make changes at the break. Goal defence Zoe Walker made way for Jess Moulds while Silver Fern Bailey Mes also came on at goal attack in place of Gemma Hazeldine.
But they couldn’t stem the flow of goals from the Steel who were hungry on defence and accurate on attack.
The Steel forced the Tactix to send the ball across court which lit up the eyes of both Karaka – who had three intercepts and four deflections by half-time – and Purvis who showed the confidence to go on the hunt.
Their 16-11 quarter time lead blew out to 10 goals after just five minutes and they went into the main break 32-25 ahead.
Coach Janine Southby went to her bench however, despite their advantage, with Sophia Fenwick making her first appearance this season as she replaced Te Paea Selby-Rickit at goal attack.
There was no momentum change as the Steel re-established the 10-goal buffer before a couple of unforced errors gave the Tactix a sniff mid-way through the third quarter.
Mes, who was introduced at quarter time, found her links with Mwai Kumwenda strengthen as the game went on as the Tactix came to within five goals of their opposition.
But that was as close as it got for the visitors who were left to again focus on Fowler-Reid who showed her worth for the Steel with some key rebounds to help settle her side.
The Tactix made changes to their mid-court with two minutes left in the third quarter as captain Anna Thompson went to the bench and Keisha Grant moved to centre while Erikana Pedersen came onto the wing.
The Steel also took the opportunity to tinker with their line-up as Phoenix made way for Jane Watson who picked up the goal keeper bib and Purvis moved out to goal defence.
The hosts looked to have the game under control with 15 minutes remaining as they went into the final break with a 51-40 lead.
Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel shooting statistics:
Jhaniele Fowler-Reid: 56/60 (93%)
Te Paea Selby Rickit: 8/11 (73%)
Sophia Fenwick: 4/11 (4/11 (36%)
Mainland Tactix shooting statistics:
Mwai Kumwenda: 34/39 (87%)
Gemma Hazeldine 3/5 (60%)
Bailey Mes 17/24 (71%)
MVP: Jhaniele Fowler-Reid (Steel)
