Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua is feeling slightly happier with her side's performance, despite having to come from behind to beat the England Roses 54-47 and reclaim the Taini Jamison Trophy on Friday night.
Taurua's side trailed 25-23 at halftime before a third-quarter surge saw the Silver Ferns pull ahead and eventually secure victory, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-game series in Hamilton.
After beating England in the first test 58-45 on Wednesday, Taurau was highly critical of her side's performance saying they were too "timid" and felt they'd taken a "backwards step" from their last outing against the NZ Men in a domestic series just days earlier.
While the Ferns were far from their best, Taurua was pleased they had to work hard for the win.
"There were moments where we grinded it away," says Taurua. "It may not have looked pretty but we were still able to get the ball through the hoop.
"There were improvements. I liked the hustle between the two sides and this had the feeling of a traditional test match so I'm feeling happier.
"We are trying different things but it's about when we do it. Sometimes we need to keep ourselves simple as we can get complicated, but that's only natural.
"From where we started three weeks ago there is a better understanding and more clarity so we just need to keep chipping away and progressing.
"It's still a work in progress, but happy with the win."
With the third test now a dead rubber, Taurua hinted at giving other players more game time out on the court but she noted the importance of claiming a series sweep over the Roses.
"It is a great time to see people out on the court. But we have to be mindful that we don't lose that game either.
"We've built ourselves up and our business is winning test matches so we have to be strategic, but it will be great to get more injected energy out there and see what other styles we can play."
Join Newshub for the final game of the Taini Jamison series on Sunday at 7:30pm
