Second Quarter Magic Enough for Waikato to see off Fever

A brutal second quarter complimented by a goal shooting master class from Jo Harten have helped the Waikato BOP Magic to a comfortable 17 goal victory (65-48) over the West Coast Fever in their ANZ Championship clash on Sunday.

Harten sunk a match high 46 goals for the hosts to lead a turnaround that saw the Magic erase a five goal quarter time defecit into a 21 goal to nine second term, that wrenched control for the home side.

Whilst Harten held the hot hand for the New Zealand outfit, it was the creativity of Wing Attack Grace Rasmussen that initiated the pivotal moments of the second term, with her work rate and efficiency helping to first stem the tide, before allowing the Magic to race away for a seven goal half time lead.

The 12 goal swing put the handbrake on Fever’s momentum and despite a more spirited performance in the third quarter from the tourists, the Magic ensured that it would not relinquish the competition points by scoring seven of the last 10 goals for a 65-48 final score.

WAIS athlete Caitlin Bassett hit 26 goals for the Fever, whilst fellow scholarship holders Ashleigh Brazill and Shae Bolton put in solid shifts for the Perth based team.

With their New Zealand tour at an end, the Fever returns to home comforts this weekend, where it will face 2013 ANZ Championship title holders the Adelaide Thunderbirds.