Mainland Tactix have overcome an almost perfect shooting half from their rivals to steal a 49-46 win over Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in the ANZ Premiership.
Trailing by as many as seven goals early in the second quarter, the southerners turned the tables over the latter stages of the encounter to grab their sixth win of the season, as they closed within two points of tabletoppers Northern Mystics.
The Magic seemed on track early, when they led 15-10 through the opening period, with shooters Bayley Mes and Ameliaranne Ekenasio locked into their target. They piled on 26 goals, before Ekenasio finally missed a shot in the final seconds before halftime, but by then, the Tactix had already begun their comeback.
Outscoring their opponents 14-10 in the third quarter, they led 37-36 into the final stanza and held off any late challenge from their fellow playoff contenders.
"I think we just really looked at ourselves," reflected Tactix captain Kimiora Poi. "During that first quarter, we were doing uncharacteristic errors - myself included, just dropping balls out of court - we just tidied our game up a bit.
"When you steal that little bit of energy from the other team, you get that momentum and that's what we did leading into the second half of the game."
The Tactix also reversed an alarming trend of losing fourth quarters - they had won only one of seven entering this contest.
"We've been talking about finishing those critical moments - everyone says that, but actually finishing them. We did let ourselves slip a bit, because we could have come away not letting them have a bonus point, but we'll take a win."
The game featured a high-quality shooting display from both teams, with Mes returning figures of 25/27 - her first miss came early in the fourth quarter - and Aliyah Dunn converting 28/31 for the Tactix.
With very little between the two teams, the Magic were penalised 51-41 more than the eventual winners, but their bonus point keeps them in the post-season hunt, with five points covering the top five teams.
The Tactix face winless Southern Steel next Sunday, while the Magic take on the Mystics the same night.
Mainland Tactix 49 (Dunn 28/31, Selby-Rickit 21/23) Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic 46 (Mes 25/27, Ekenasio 21/23)
