The Silver Ferns are two from two at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool, after a commanding 78-25 win over Barbados on Sunday (NZ time).
Coming off the back of a hard-fought 64-45 win over Malawi, coach Noeline Taurua gave all her players court time against Barbados, who are ranked 12th in the world.
Bailey Mes got her first outing of the campaign, starting at goal shoot, while Katrina Rore slotted into wing defence and Shannon Saunders at wing attack in the starting seven, as workloads looked to be managed effectively across the demands of the tournament which involves eight games in 10 days.
Mes played the entire game, finishing with 30 goals from 33 attempts, as New Zealand's shooters finished with 89 percent accuracy.
After a sloppy first quarter where New Zealand only led 16-9, the Silver Ferns quickly found their groove and eventually raced out to a 42-14 halftime lead.
New Zealand held a 61-20 heading into the final quarter, where coach Taurua changed things up. Casey Kopua, Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Laura Langman were given some well-deserved rest, while Mes moved from the goal shoot to wing attack.
Taurua felt the team had shown a big improvement from their opening win against Malawi yesterday.
"I'm really happy, especially defensively where I thought we were tighter as a unit, and created a lot of turnovers. So, I'm really happy with that aspect and also being able to get all 12 on is a bonus," she said.
"I was just really happy with how our whole unit combined and overall it was a great step-up from yesterday."
The Silver Ferns meet Singapore in their final group game at 8pm on Sunday (NZ time).
Newshub.
