Tactix march on with resilient showing against the Stars
In an ever-willing contest, VIP Frames & Trusses Tactix continued their strong momentum while also putting a dent in the Stars Netball Finals Series prospects after posting a well-earned 52-47 win in Auckland on Saturday.
In front of a sell-out home crowd, the Stars had their moments but couldn’t match the resilience of the Tactix defensive trio Fa’amu Muliaga (nee Ioane), Laura Balmer and Ash Barnett while shooter Charlie Bell was rock-solid under the hoop with her 37 from 39 return. In the middle, Holly Mather was an infectious presence, her four intercepts capping an influential all-round outing.
Losing to the same opponents by two goals two weeks ago, the Stars, despite a poor second quarter, were well in the hunt when trailing by five heading into the last quarter, the home side unable to breach the staunch defensive wall and sure shooting provided by the Tactix but doing enough to clinch a bonus point by coming within five.
With plenty riding on this match, particularly for the Stars, the home side were missing their influential midcourter Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, ruled out through injury, with the experienced Samon Nathan suiting up at centre.
Spoilt for riches in the goal shoot position, the towering figure of Australian import Bell got the nod under the hoop after Hannah Glen was preferred in the starter’s position for the previous two weeks, while interim injury replacement Gina Crampton, a national league centurion and former Silver Ferns captain, got her first start for the visitors.
Stung by their previous loss to the southern side, the Stars were out to make a statement and got away to a flyer through speed and quick release of the ball.
Salmon found her links to shooter Amelia Walmsley from the get-go with a run of perfectly-timed and placed passes. At the other end, a few misguided passes didn’t find the intended mark of Bell and consequently the Tactix fell behind on the scoreboard.
However, the visitors provided a strong response with ever-impressive young centre Mather finding her connection with the 1.97m Bell, who showed impressive handling and finishing. Mather was also an effective defensive spoiler as the Tactix levelled up the scores before Martina Salmon clinched a super shot on the buzzer to give the Stars a tenuous 15-14 lead at the first quarter break.
There was no lessening of intent from either side on the resumption in an increasingly physical clash with Stars assistant coach, 48-year-old Lenan de Bruin taking the court to negate the height of Bell as a goal-for-goal stand-off took centre stage through the opening minutes.
On the back of three straight goals the Stars opened up a three-goal lead but the Tactix responded in kind as both sets of defences employed huge and effective build-ups of pressure. That included two clutch edge of the circle steals by Mather.
Eventually, it paid dividends for the Tactix, who put their foot down, a withering six-goal unanswered scoring spree pushing them out to a 29-23 lead at the main break while leaving the Stars with just eight goals for the quarter.
The third quarter followed a similar trend to the second, the Stars, with a rejigged defence line, making significant inroads after wiping off most of the deficit when drawing to within one.
But, once again, it was Mather who inspired a positive response from the red-and-blacks. Five successive goals pushed them back into a position of control with shooting duo Bell and the play-making Amorangi Malesala, up against their old team, withstanding the pressure to make the most of their opportunities to keep the Stars at arms-length.
A second Salmon two-pointer gave the Stars some hope but the Tactix retained their hold on proceedings when leading 41-36 at the last turn.