From left: Steel Kimiora Poi, Aliyah Dunn, Georgia Heffernan and Renee Savai'inaea celebrate their win. Photo: Marty Melville
A late comeback by the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic was not enough to stop a dominant Southern Steel from securing a 64-56 win in the ANZ Premiership in Invercargill on Saturday.
The Steel are on a three-game winning streak and have taken outright third place on the points ladder with two more rounds before the finals.
The Magic finished strongly with a last quarter flurry to win the final 15 minutes 18-11 but were outplayed across the first three quarters.
Steel shooter Aliyah Dunn was nearly flawless from close to the hoop converting 43 of her 45 goal attempts.
It was shooting accuracy which proved the difference at the end of the first quarter, the Steel leading 15-13 after nailing all their opportunities and the Magic missing two after both sides had equal attempts.
In the second quarter the intense pressure employed by Carys Stythe and Abby Lawson under the Magic hoop resulted in turnovers while at the other end Dunn and Georgia Heffernan continued their recent strong form.
The pair shared the load expertly and intuitively in feeding off each other with Dunn producing a standout first half through her positioning, pin-point shooting and rebounding ability.
The home side were ahead 33-25 at halftime.
The Magic struggled to keep up after the break with the Steel outscoring them 20-13 in the third period as the visitors' misguided passes and inaccuracies took a toll.
The loss was the Magic's third defeat in a row and the second time they have lost to the Steel this season.
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