Fever Stunt Magic Comeback
The in-form West Coast Fever completed a clean sweep against New Zealand teams after posting a 54-49 win against the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in Perth last Sunday.
In her 100th outing, foundation player Caitlin Bassett (WAIS) did not have best of days with her shooting percentages but the Fever held too many guns in despatching an erratic Magic while also defending the Challenge Trophy for a fifth successive time.
Down by 11 goals at times, the youthful Magic team produced a stirring late quarter comeback to add an exciting finish but were left to rue a poor start. Fever built an excellent platform from the outset with their overall team dominance to keep their unbeaten record intact while Magic were left chasing the game and leaving their run too late.
There were no surprises in either team’s starting line-ups, Josie Janz-Dawson (WAIS) getting the nod at goalkeeper for Fever this week.
Fever couldn’t have asked for a better start, the home team getting away to a flyer when scoring the first six goals of the match. Playing with pace and accuracy, Fever had few problems getting the ball goal-bound and holding the early dominance with an almost flawless opening.
Conversely, Magic’s opening was peppered with turnovers, a lack of accuracy leaving them scoreless for five minutes. The home team’s relentless midcourt pressure, where Shae Brown (WAIS) was a shining light, and their well-crafted execution on attack left the visitors with few answers and unable to stall the momentum.
With everything going their way it was the Fever who skipped into the first break with a handy 16-9 lead.
In an effort to repair some of the damage, Malia Paseka replaced Ellen Halpenny at goal attack for the Magic on the resumption. One of four 19-year-olds in the visitor’s line-up, the athletic Paseka added immediate impact with her slick movement and aerial ability.
Magic rattled in the first four goals on the restart which coincided with a lift in the visitor’s defensive efforts. The midcourt was effective in halting Fever’s momentum on attack while Leana de Bruin and Kristiana Manu’a turned up the heat on shooters Bassett and Natalie Medhurst (WAIS).
Both Bassett and Magic’s Jo Harten were a little shaky on the shot at times before Harten regained her poise to post her 1500th goal in the competition as the visitors closed to within four.
However, as they have done all season, Fever showed their composure to weather the storm and regain the advantage with a decisive burst of their own. Magic continued to waste opportunities, a lack of precision feeding the circle helping Fever retain control of the match with a 27-21 lead at the main break.
Despite the loss of defender April Letton with a rolled ankle during the third stanza, Fever remained undeterred, performing like a well-oiled machine to stretch out their lead. Seamless and efficient in all areas of the court, Fever were relentless in hammering home their advantage.
The playmaking skills of Medhurst were prominent on the back of a standout game from wing attack Khao Watts as the pair controlled proceedings on attack. Magic had their moments but inconsistency of performance continued to blight any hopes of a realistic comeback.
Veteran defender De Bruin remained a top performer for the visitors and Harten converted most opportunities that came her way as her efforts lifted throughout but the visitor’s threw away too much possession against the well-performed Fever who was well placed when leading 44-35 at the last break.
-ANZChampionship