The Northern Stars have toppled second place Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic with a 55-50 win in their ANZ netball premiership match in Manukau last night.
Magic captain Casey Kopua contests for a ball with Malia Vaka of the Northern Stars. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
It's the Stars second win in as many games after beating their Auckland neighbours the Northern Mystics last round.
The newcomers in the league showed they have successfully built up their confidence and combinations over nine rounds, and they now have the resilience to fight back from a seven-goal deficit in the first quarter.
There were anxious moments for the Stars, who lost their sharp-eyed goal shoot Maia Wilson early in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. But her shooting sidekicks Malia Vaka and Afa Rusivakula stepped up under pressure to hold out the Magic, who were disappointed to only come away with a bonus point at this crucial end of the competition.
The niggly start for both sides, with unnecessary errors plaguing their movement down court, was an early sign of what would be a hard-fought, uncompromising encounter.
-RNZ
