The Silver Ferns have bounced back from Thursday's record loss to NZ Men, defeating the Mixed Invitational side 68-59 to reach the final of the Cadbury Series.
Returning to the court at Auckland's Pullman Arena, the Silver Ferns did what they needed to do to reach the final of their last pre-Commonwealth Games hitout, up against a side made up of men and women.
But despite any worries of struggling against the physicality of the Mixed Invitational side's male players, the Silver Ferns won three of the four quarters, leading 17-13 after the first, 36-31 going into halftime, and 55-44 heading into the last.
It was only when the Silver Ferns removed their frontline shooters in the last quarter that Mixed Invitational managed to take the advantage, winning the last quarter 15-13 before fulltime.
Shooter Grace Nweke contributed the bulk of the scoring for the Silver Ferns, landing 46 goals from her 50 attempts, and was backed up admirably by Maia Wilson's 22 from 25.
Starting at goal attack, Wilson's contribution extended beyond the shooting circle, also chipping in with 13 assists, 14 feeds, 15 centre passes and a team-high five turnovers.
Captain Gina Crampton also stood out, setting up 21 goals in her side's win.
For the Mixed Invitational side, goal shoot Quintin Gerber was hard to miss, standing at over two metres tall and finding himself as the focal point for his side's attack.
Gerber landed 46 from his 50 attempts, and made life difficult for the Silver Ferns defenders.
Dame Noeline Taurua's side will face the NZ Men for the second time in three days, when they look for revenge on Saturday in the Cadbury Series' final.
Silver Ferns 68 (Nweke 46/50, Wilson 22/25)
Mixed Invitational 59 (Gerber 46/50, Namana 8/9, G.Heffernan 5/5)
