Coach Dame Noeline Taurua got the performance - and the result - she was after last night, as the Silver Ferns delivered an emphatic response to their series-opening defeat to England.
Their 57-36 win in the second test of the Taini Jamison series was thanks in no small part to the performance of teen sensation Amelia Walmsley, who turned plenty of heads on debut.
The 19-year-old scored a game-high 36 points at an 88 percent success rate, as the Ferns squared the three-match series with the Roses.
According to coach Dame Noeline Taurua, the towering 1.92m goalshoot showed poise beyond her years.
"I thought she did amazing and she should be very proud of herself and her debut," Taurua said of Walmsley's performance.
"I kept saying that it's hard to know she's 19. I thought she was very mature out there.
"They were very physical underneath the post and she handled that very well, supported by mummy [Ameliaranne Ekenasio] as well."
Walmsley earned her spot in the squad courtesy of her stand-out ANZ Premeirship season with Central Pulse, taking her opportunity in Porirua in the absence of Grace Nweke, who's still recovering from injury, and Maia Wilson.
Dame Noeline says she intended using her in the opening test of the series, until the tight contest called for more experience.
"There were moments in test one where I was looking to her actually but I thought the situation out there wasn't a good time to bring her out," Taurua said.
"She's been training really well in camp and over the series.
"What she offers is the height in the back as our volume shooter and it also helps to split the circle so we don't just get caught up in a tight space."
The teams now travel to Hamilton for the decisive third match, with Taura admitting there's a weight lifted from the shoulders after their shock defeat to the understrength English in the opening game of the series on Sunday.
"This does release the valve a little bit, but we've got to be able to back that up and do it again on Saturday.
"We need to keep the pressure on ourselves and keep ourselves under the thumb so we know we can perform in the next one."
