Retiring coach Yvette McCausland-Durie has guided her Central Pulse to a successful ANZ Premiership title defence, dispatching Mainland Tactix 43-31 in Invercargill.
The titleholder gave their challengers little hope of an upset, scoring four goals before their opponents could get on the board and extending their lead to double figures early in the second quarter off the back of an eight-goal run.
The Tactix rallied somewhat in the third period, closing to within six goals at 30-24, but had no answer for their rivals down the stretch.
McCausland-Durie, who has guided the Pulse to four consecutive finals and now two titles, made the only line-up change of the match, when she benched midcourt star Maddy Gordon, nursing an ankle injury, for the third quarter.
That seemed to spark the Tactix's best spell, as they clawed to an 11-8 advatange in that quarter, but Gordon's return for the fourth saw Pulse bounce back to their best. Gordon was duly named Player of the Match.
The individual honour could so easily have gone to shooter Aliyah Dunn, who opened with 13 straight successes before her first miss and was wayward with just one other shot in the final quarter.
In her 150th game for the Pulse, captain Katrina Rore smothered Silver Ferns teammate Te Paea Selby-Rickit under goal, putting the onus on Ellie Bird to keep the Tactix competitive. Bird connected on a respectable 19/23, but as a unit, the southern attack enjoyed far less opportunities, attempting 12 less attempts on goal.
Defensive efforts by Kimiora Poi and Charlotte Elley were not enough to stem the tide for the Tactix, while Karin Berger stood out in the Pulse midcourt.
Afterwards, Rore reflected on how these two teams used to compete at the other end of the competition ladder, but had risen to meet in the Grand Final.
Under COVID-19 Level 2 restrictions, the competition playoffs were reduced to just a final, with team supporters kept separated by social distancing guidelines.
Central Pulse 43 (Dunn 28/30, Ekenasio 15/18) Mainland Tactix 31 (Bird 19/23, Selby Rickit 12/13)
