Silver Ferns - 52 Australia - 48
FULLTIME - New Zealand win! Click here for highlights and a full wrap.
14th min - Two minutes to play! Seven goal lead NZ.
13th min - NZ hit 50. Can't see a way back here for Aussie now. Six goal lead.
10th min - Crunchtime now for Aussie. They just can't stop this flow of ball from Toeava to Nweke.
9th min - Toeava with a dime to Nweke, who fights off two defenders to sink another.
8th min - Nweke converts from a tough angle. Still seven goals to the good for NZ.
5th min - Huge offensive rebound off the Ekenasio miss and she puts it back in.
3rd min - Dwyer misses for Aussie. NZ rebound. Aussie deflection, Koenen pulls the Aussie deficit back to six. Nweke quickly restores it to seven.
1st min - Toeava snatches the intercept to open the final quarter, Nweke converts. Seven goal lead now.
End of third quarter
14th min - Australia with three debutants on court and it's starting to show, some uncharacteristic mistakes. Ekenasio misses NZ's first goal of the game in the final minute of the third. Window opens for Aussie, but the NZ defence slams it shut.
12th min - Toeava leading the charge, massive work rate tonight. Nweke cashes in to make it five goals. Back they come to make that six.
10th min - Australia keeping in touch but can't break this three-goal barrier. Ekenasio splashes another, she's yet to miss tonight.
8th min - Johnson doing some superb defensive work out there. Aussie pull it back to three goals.
6th min - Johnson intercept ends with an Nweke goal.
4th min - Three straight goals for NZ. Ekenasio bags another, two-goal lead NZ.
3rd min - NZ quickly back on the attack to tie the game. Ekenasio gives the Ferns the lead.
HALFTIME - A real tussle on our hands here at Tauranga. Stay tuned for the second half.
14th min - Ekenasio has shaken off her shooting woes from the first test, perfect from the field so far. Wood nails the long-range attempt. Lovely touch from Ekenasio to Nweke for the final goal of the half.
10th min - Wood is making it rain out there for Australia. More superb defensive work by Karaka goes awry, chasing that long hero ball again and it doesn't come off. Another tipped pass gives Ekenasio a shot, cuts it to two.
8th min - Nice baseline work from Aussie but Koenen puts up a brick. Ekenasio gets a comfy pass from Toeava and hits nothing but net.
6th min - Ekenasio gets the first goal in what seemed an age for NZ. Karaka gets up and makes a two-handed interception. Nweke does the rest.
4th min - Error forced by some stern NZ defence. Plenty of turnovers in both directions so far tonight. Aussie force one the other way and make the Ferns pay to extend to a four-goal lead.
3rd min - Nweke keeps her perfect record intact for the day. Wood does it again for Aussie.
1st min - Koenen claims the opening goal of the quarter for Australia. Wood extends the lead to two.
End of first quarter
14th min - Koenen briefly extends the lead to four, as Nweke cashes in on some superb quick ball. Karaka intercept, back they come for another Nweke goal.
12th min - Nweke at full extention to reel in the high pass from Toeava and tie the game. Wood with a pair of goals to and Aussie go three ahead.
10th min - Long range bullet from Toeava to Nweke but the referee rules a harsh obstruction and it's turned over. Wood gives Aussie a two-goal lead.
8th min - Wood hits a long-range one-footer. Parmenter tips a pass and does well to keep the ball inbounds but Nweke is on hand to convert.
5th min - Parmenter with the intercept for the Aussies. Koenen misses her first attempt but puts in the rebound. Quick ball the other way and Nweke replies.
4th min - Toeava starts where he left off in Auckland with a well weighted pass for Nweke to score. Koenen error gives the ball back to NZ, but Karaka's long cross-court pass goes out of bounds.
3rd min - Karaka in the mix early with that trademark defence. Aussie still able to sink the game's first goal. Ekenasio splashes the reply for NZ.
1st min - Whitney Souness gets us started with he opening centre-circle pass. Early three second call concedes possession immediately to Aussie.
We're underway...
7:26pm - Both teams are on the court and warming their voices for the anthems. We'll be into the action very shortly.
7:20pm - Here's your Silver Ferns starting seven for tonight's test.
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Kia ora and welcome to live updates of the second test of the Constellation Cup netball series between the Silver Ferns and Australia.
Tonight we're at Tauranga's Baypark Arena, where the hosts will have a chance to lock up the coveted trans-Tasman trophy for a second straight year, after their comprehensive win in the opener at Auckland on Wednesday.
The Ferns fired out of a cannon in the opening quarter, repelling a third-quarter charge from the Diamonds before charging to the finish line to complete a 56-48 victory.
Count on the wounded Australians to respond with venom in the second test in a recipe that should produce fireworks in the bay.
Join us from the opening pass at 7:30pm.
TAB betting odds:
New Zealand $1.85 Australia - $1.85
Squads:
New Zealand: Ameliaranne Ekenasio (captain), Sulu Fitzpatrick (NZ leg), Maddy Gordon (Australian leg), Kate Heffernan, Kayla Johnson, Kelly Jury, Phoenix Karaka, Grace Nweke, Kimiora Poi (Australian leg), Mila Reuelu-Buchanan (NZ leg), Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Whitney Souness, Peta Toeava (NZ leg), Elle Temu (Australian leg), Maia Wilson
Australia: Sunday Aryang, Kiera Austin, Ruby Bakewell-Doran, Courtney Bruce, Sarah Klau, Cara Koenen, Kate Moloney, Amy Parmenter, Jamie-Lee Price, Maddy Proud, Liz Watson, Steph Wood
Suffocating defensive effort anchors emphatic Silver Ferns win over Australia
Coach Dame Noeline Taurua had plenty of reasons to smile, after the Silver Ferns' eyebrow-raising 56-48 win over Australia in Wednesday's Constellation Cup opener at Auckland on Wednesday.
The Ferns exploded out of the gates with an 11-goal unanswered streak and never looked back, surging to one of the most impressive performances against their rivals in recent years.
At the core of their victory was a stoic defensive effort, anchored by Player of the Match Phoenix Karaka, who wreaked havoc in the defensive circle in tandem with Kelly Jury, while rookie Kate Heffernan had her hands in everything on the wings in her first outing against the Diamonds.
Playing against the Diamonds for the first time and being tasked with shutting down one of the planet's premier wing attacks in Liz Watson, Heffernan more than held her own.
"I thought it was a good start for Kate," Dame Noeline said after the game.
"I would never disrespect Liz. I hold her in high regard… she's a master of what she does, and I feel - as a unit - they all did their role and it turned over a lot of ball, so really pleased for Kate."
"She reminds me of an Australian wing defence, that same sort of style so one on one - where her opponent goes, she goes.
"I think also her connection with Whitney [Souness] on the outside, they did a power of work in our defensive structures so really happy.
"Our next bit will be can Kate do it again. That's the challenge for everyone, can we do it again."
The New Zealanders' defence limited the Australian shooters to a miserable 79 percent success rate, which was in stark contrast to their own sparkling 92 percent inside the circle.
The driving force behind that shooting effort was the combination between Mystics duo Peta Toeava and Grace Nweke, whose symbiotic connection translated seamlessly from the ANZ Premiership to the international court.
Handed a lifeline after some early struggles in the black dress, Toeava delivered on her coach's good faith with a virtuoso display in the midcourt, ensuring a steady stream of quality ball for her shooters.
"Especially in the first half she showed her amazing ability to thread that ball to connect with Grace [Nweke], I thought she did that really well," noted Taurua.
"That's probably also her first game that she's played four quarters. There were moments there where I thought 'if you keep doing this you're going to get off' but hey, she stuck at it and I think that's really good for our team that we are able to ride the ups and downs ... really pleased with her."
Nweke was near unguardable in the circle, splashing goals from all manner of angles and distances in converting 40 of her 42 attempts.
"I think you saw that in spasms and also that ability to let those long balls go which is a beautiful brand of netball," said Taurua.
"There's also that brand that we're looking for in regards to just getting it on circle edge and get your knitting done, and once you get on circle edge, there's nobody that can stop that one-on-one with Grace or any of our shooters.
"We're looking to find that balance there, I thought they both did really well and always room for improvement."
The teams now head to Tauranga for the second test on Sunday, where a win for the Silver Ferns - as the current holders - could lock up the Constellation Cup for another year.
And as pleased as she was with her team's efforts at Spark Arena, Dame Noeline said improvement will be crucial to weather what will undoubtedly be a stern response from a wounded Australian side this weekend.
"I thought structure-wise the defence was really outstanding," she said. "Attacking end, we still need to just keep chipping away at the areas that we want to work on in strategy.
