The ANZ Championships-Fever overcome the Tactix in a Round 2 thriller
Staff Writers, Monday, 21 February 2011.
The West Coast Fever have staved off a feisty comeback from home side Mercury Energy Tactix, 54-48, in the first trans-Tasman clash of the 2011 ANZ Championship season.
The Fever side kept level heads in the crucial final stages of an intense encounter, which saw the Tactix fight back from a nine-goal deficit in the first quarter to even up the match at halftime, before the Fever finally stole back their early dominance.
Fevers stand-in captain Andrea Gilmore was relieved her side left Christchurch with a victory, but knows they have homework to do on sustaining the assault for the full 60 minutes.
Despite the loss, it was a heartening performance from the Tactix, bottom of the table in 2010, and a welcome return home by former Silver Fern star Donna Wilkins.
Both sides were equally disadvantaged from the outset without their injured captains Fevers Jo Curran and Tactix Maree Bowden.
The Fever got off to a frenzied start, quickly establishing a five-goal lead as Caitlin Bassett and Leah Shoard shared the weight of the shooting duties, missing just one shot between them.
New recruit, English import Ama Agbeze formed a formidable defensive duo with Susan Fuhrmann at the opposite end, while experienced Fever midcourters Andrea Gilmore and Shae Bolton drove play briskly through court.
The speed and pressure immediately told on the Tactix, with needless handling errors smartly converted by Fever into points. A confident Fever walked off court at the first break 19-10 ahead, while the frustration in the Tactix camp was obvious.
Tactix coach Helen Mahon-Stroud turned to veteran Anna Galvan on for goal defence Charlotte Kight to try to tighten the defensive screws on the rampant Fever attack. The move paid off in spades as the homeside scored three consecutive goals soon into the spell, and fought back to close the gap to one.
As the intensity swelled, Wilkins came to the fore - her fearless shooting and indomitable court play rubbing off on young goal shoot Ellen Halpenny, who didnt shy away from her shooting responsibilities either, in the overbearing shadow of Fuhrmann.
Explosive Jamaican defender Kasey Evering also played her way into the game, unnerving Bassett and snatching three key intercepts.
A Tactix turnover with 30 seconds on the clock to halftime could have locked up the scores. Instead, Fever held on to the narrowest of leads, 28-27, going into an eagerly anticipated second half.
Fever coach Jane Searle responded by introducing Ashlee Howard complete with mouthguard - to the shooting circle and Josie Janz to the defence end. While the Tactix took the lead for the first time in the match, and held it for much of the quarter, a determined Fever attack strung five straight goals together to skip ahead 40-38.
The Fever continued to build on that lead in the last quarter, with Bassett taking control in the shooting circle to finish with impressive first-up figures of 38 from 41 shots for 93 percent accuracy.
