Stars kick-start their return with impressive win

Taking time to find their feet the Robinhood Stars produced a strong finish to douse any hopes of a hometown win, outclassing the Trident Home Tactix 63-51 in Christchurch on Saturday.

With the disruption caused by Covid, it was the first outing for both teams in nearly three weeks, the Stars lining up for just their second game of the season and, understandably, it was a rusty start from both.

Pleased to finally be tasting on-court action again, both teams felt the effects of not playing recently but produced a competitive and entertaining outing. With their midcourt having the edge, the Stars found their accuracy at both ends to gradually assert their overall dominance.

As a result of players still missing and others on restricted playing minutes, there were rearranged starting sevens for both which included influential centre and captain Kimiora Poi out of action altogether for the home side.

That meant Hawke’s Bay’s Parris Petera making her debut for the Tactix, at wing attack and Samon Nathan moving into centre. The Stars had a more settled look to their line-up with goal attack Amorangi Malesala getting a rare start.

With less ball in their hands, powerful home side goalkeeper Kelera Nawai-Caucau kept the Tactix well in the contest with a string of timely turnover opportunities while keeping dangerous shooter Maia Wilson under wraps in the early exchanges.

Showing more fluency on attack, the Stars enjoyed plenty of possession but weren’t always accurate with their finishing. It was the opposite story for the Tactix, who were very accurate under the hoop but lacked volume as the Stars hit the first break with a 15-12 lead.

Scoring the first two goals on the resumption, the Tactix were poised to push on but it was the Stars who gained the much-needed momentum through the middle stages of the stanza.

With Nathan and Te Paea Selby-Rickit orchestrating the home side’s attack line, the Tactix couldn’t quite find their consistency in this area, the Stars finding their groove with some slick through-court play.

Ageless defender Anna Harrison, wo turned 39 yesterday, gained more prominence in shutting down the threat of towering Tactix shooter Ellie Bird as the visitors made a decisive run.

Both sides made a number of changes while easing players back into competitive play mode. Jess Maclennan (nee Moulds) who has not played at this level since 2018 and has had two children in the interim, made her return at goalkeeper while Lily Fletcher was introduced at wing defence for the Tactix.

Defender Elle Temu and shooter Jamie Hume were also introduced for the Stars, who won a tight second stanza to lead 31-26 at the main break.

The third stanza followed a similar trend with both sides enjoying mini runs but with neither able to completely stamp their initiative.

Stand-in captain Karin Burger and Maclennan made the Stars shooters earn their keep while Charlotte Elley added stability from centre as the Tactix lifted their attacking impetus, more accuracy helping the home side close to within four.

However, as they did throughout the match, the visitors were able to absorb and respond with productive efficiency to keep their grip on proceedings.

With midcourters Gina Crampton and Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, in just her second game of the season, holding sway through the midcourt with their feeding and snappy through-court transition, it was the Stars who continued to build.

Increasingly finding their flow on attack and effective challenge on defence pushed the Stars out to a handy 47-40 lead at the last turn.