Match Preview (R11): Stars v Tactix
TEAM NEWS:
The Northern Stars will be hoping to have captain Leana de Bruin back in action for this game after the defender hobbled off court with an ankle injury early in their loss to the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel last week.
Her side is coming off a hefty loss to the Premiership leaders but will have been pleased with the second half performance they put in.
Maintaining that momentum against the Silvermoon Tactix will be their goal as they search for their third straight win over the Mainland team.
The “search” continues for the Tactix however as they struggle to string together four consistent quarters of play.
A strong start against the WBOP Magic unravelled quickly in the second quarter and captain Hayley Saunders admitted they were “still searching for what is most effective”.
“This week we were focussing on the process and not the score,” she said.“We weren’t able to stick to the processes and that let us down again.”
They have managed to come close to the Stars in two previous meetings but the northerners have notched up a couple of upset results since then and will prove a much tougher opponent.
WHO TO WATCH:
Malia Vaka (Stars) – the former Silver Fern returned to the game this season after the birth of her first child but is returning to form.She played a strong supporting role to Maia Wilson during her 45 minutes on court last week and gets better with every outing.
Anna Thompson (Tactix) versus Kayla Cullen (Stars) – the goal attack bib has been something of a sticking point for the Tactix with Thompson the preferred option and plenty riding on her shoulders.A tough match-up is looming against Cullen.
Hayley Saunders (Tactix) – the wing defence played one of her better games against the Waikato-BOP Magic keeping Silver Fern Grace Rasmussen quiet for the first half.Provides plenty of hustle around the circle and drives hard to bring ball through court on attack.
HOW TO WATCH:
NZ-based fans can tune into SKY Sport 3 to catch all the action live from 2pm. International fans (outside NZ) can watch all the action live on the ANZ Premiership Facebook page.