Pulse bounce back with dominant win over Stars
Bursting back into life, Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse put a big dent in the comeback bubble of Go Media Stars when delivering a comprehensive 69-45 win to kick off Round 3 ANZ Premiership action in Auckland on Saturday.
The Pulse rebounded strongly from last week’s loss with an all-purpose win across all areas of the court. The Stars kept it close during the third quarter but were totally out-muscled during the other three stanzas.
The back three of Kelly Jackson, Parris Mason and Fa’amu Ioane were outstanding in smothering the Stars attacking momentum while setting up an unstoppable team performance.
At the other end, the Pulse were fluid with their through-court play where shooter Amelia Walmsley provided the finishing touches with a masterful 55 goals from 57 attempts under the hoop.
Buoyed by last week’s win, the Stars started with the seven that had served them so well, including younger defender Lili Tokaduadua, who made such an impact at goal defence.
The Pulse also retained a familiar look with midcourters Whitney Souness and Maddy Gordon increasing their on-court minutes after coming back from injury.
Both teams employed plenty of early defensive pressure but it was ultimately the Pulse who gained the upper hand as the first quarter unfolded.
The well-acquainted Pulse In-circle defensive pairing of Mason and Jackson caused the Stars shooters all sorts of problems, when either smothering the shot or hunting the ball.
At the other end, Tokaduadua and Remi Kamo also produced turnover opportunities but the Stars accuracy on attack let them down.
With eight gains under their belt – and Gordon and Souness dynamic on attack – Walmsley enjoyed a bounty of quality ball under the hoop, going through the quarter with a perfect return, while an Amorangi Malesala super shot on the buzzer pushed the visitors into a handy 16-8 lead at the first break.
The Stars started the second stanza with plenty of promise but couldn’t sustain their consistency while Jackson and Mason continued to be a menacing presence in disrupting the home side’s scoring opportunities.
That prompted changes to the Stars midcourt with former Silver Fern Kayla Johnson, providing injury cover, coming on at wing defence in a bid to stem the Pulse’s flow and impact being made by the speedy Souness.
It failed to materialise as the Pulse kept pushing hard across all areas. Charlie Bell provided a glimmer of hope when sinking a super shot but that was negated by two-pointers from Malesala and Tiana Metuarau, as the Pulse swept into a 36-19 lead at the main break.
Three two-pointers from Stars shooters Maia Wilson and Monica Falkner helped the home side remain on level terms through the third quarter but there were few chinks in the Pulse output.
The 1.92m frame of Jackson continued to intimidate the Stars shooters while the Pulse midcourt effectively mixed their variety and quality of ball into the key figure of Walmsley.
The vision and clever delivery from Metuarau gave the Pulse plenty of options into the circle, where the quality of long-range feeds and shorter passes provided a constant headache for the Stars defenders.
Not a lot went right for the Stars who struggled to stem the constant attacking raids from a well-performed Pulse, who dominated across all facets as they took a stranglehold on proceedings when taking a 50-32 lead into the last break.
Well placed heading down the home straight, the Pusle had the luxury of introducing younger players Laura Balmer (defender) and midcourter Ainsleyana Puleiata during the last quarter for their first game-time of this season’s campaign. There was no buttoning off for a relentless Pulse who marched on in clinical fashion to deliver a compelling performance.