Magic seal playoffs spot
Completing a remarkable turnaround, the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic sealed home advantage for the minor semi-final with their 53-43 win over the Queensland Firebirds in ANZ Championship netball action in Hamilton on Monday.
In a slightly anti-climatic final match to the regular season, the Magic were in the fortunate position of not having to win the match to make the play-offs.
But in recording their ninth successive win after being bottom of the ladder after round four, the Magic secured a fifth successive place in the play-offs since the inception of the competition in 2008.
Finishing third overall, the Magic will meet the Adelaide Thunderbirds in their sudden-death clash next Monday, in Hamilton. The Melbourne Vixens and Northern Mystics will meet in the major semi-final in Melbourne on Sunday, the winner enjoying following week off.
The Magic controlled most of the proceedings tonight, a strong second half seeing off the defending champions, completing a familiar trend in the history of the competition where the reigning champions have failed to make the play-offs the following season.
With one of the most accurate shooters in the competition in the Magic’s Irene van Dyk at one end and one of the most prolific in Romelda Aiken under the hoop for the Firebirds, there was plenty of action expected from the two teams with the best attacking records.
Both sets of shooters obliged with flawless starts before the Magic nosed in front on the back of the exceptional positional play and movement provided by captain Laura Langman.
The dynamic centre was pivotal in getting clean ball to van Dyk, who continued to belie her 40 years with deft footwork and clinical finishing.
The veteran shooter got the early wood on her old nemesis Laura Geitz while at the other end defender Casey Williams went hunting from the outset, contesting all that came her way to stymie the visitors’ progress.
The Firebirds struggled at times with their flow but patient steady play paid off once they got the ball in the hands of ever-reliable shooters Aiken and Natalie Medhurst. The Magic paid several pushes but Firebirds refused to go away as the home team headed to the first break with a slim 14-13 advantage.
The introduction of the taller Amy Steel for Shannon Eagland at wing defence for the Firebirds on the resumption with the view to disrupting the flow to van Dyk had an immediate impact.
With the Magic quickly establishing a four-goal lead, relentless defensive work from the Firebirds and the reliability of Aiken and Medhurst helped the visitors draw level in the latter stages of the stanza.
Not to be outdone, Magic defenders Leana de Bruin and Williams rose to the challenge, stemming the Firebirds flow with some timely intercept ball to help the home finish with a flurry and a 27-24 lead at the main break.
Once again, the Firebirds were far from done as they made a storming start to the third stanza, a succession of goals propelling them into a one-goal lead within the opening three minutes.
It was not always pretty from the Magic but throughout the match when their lead was challenged they were able to reply in style. The home team recovered from some messy passages with compelling spurts of dominance to retain overall control.
The Firebirds never threw in the towel, challenging all the way but could not break the Magic's outstanding defensive work as the home team went to the last break handily placed at 40-36.
The combination of Williams and de Bruin continued to excel in the run home, a string of turnover ball unleashing the shackles as the Magic finished the contest in rollicking fashion.
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