The Northern Mystics blew a chance of hosting the ANZ championship netball final at home when they dropped a half-time five goal lead, to lose 56-50 to the Melbourne Vixens in the major-semi final of the competition last night.
The result means the Vixens are straight through to the grand final.
The Mystics got off to a better start, leading the Vixens by a five goal buffer at quarter and half time in Melbourne.
But the Vixens returned to the court a more energized outfit in the second half and star defender Geva Mentor was back to her best, making life hard for the Mystics shooter Cathrine Latu.
At the other end of the court Karyn Howarth and Tegan Caldwell started finding more space in the goal circle and made the most of any scoring opportunities.
The Mystics shooters still had a good conversion rate, Cathrine Latu shooting at 94 percent, and Maria Tutaia at 88 percent.
The Mystics have another life and will play the winner of tonight's minor-semi, either the Adelaide Thunderbirds or the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.
