Southern Steel storm to upset win over Pulse

There’s a reason the Pulse are expected to win the ANZ Premiership this season, but there’s also a reason the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel are unbeaten at home since the league reverted to a national competition.

The Steel stretched that winning streak to 15 games over three seasons with a 62-52 win tonight, defeating a Pulse team which hadn’t lost since that tumultuous grand final against the Steel last year.

The Pulse are a very good team, and tonight’s result doesn’t change that.

You can tell in the way they warm up, the way they take the court and the way they support each other, but you could mount a good case that the Steel just wanted to win more at their ILT Stadium Southland fortress tonight.

Photo: Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel shoot Te Paea Selby-Rickit reaches for the ball during tonight’s win over the Pulse in Invercargill. Pic: Michael Bradley Photography/Dianne Manson

No one thought the Pulse were unbeatable before tonight’s game, but few would have predicted the winning margin, or the comfort with which the Steel scored at times.

Only a significant upset will prevent these two teams squaring off in the 2019 ANZ Premiership final at the beginning of June, but this result will undoubtedly play a role in the buildup to that game for both teams.

Very few teams go through a campaign unbeaten.

The Pulse will have an opportunity to review and assess what the difference was tonight, while the Steel’s title defence now has significantly sharper teeth.

After four and 16 goal losses to the Pulse this season, Steel coach Reinga Bloxham wasn’t underestimating the power of tonight’s win.

“This gives us a lot of confidence going forward that we have got the right game plan and we have got the right structures, we just have to put it out there for the full 60,” she said.

“We knew we were guilty of not doing that in the last two games, I think being at home really helps, but this morning we had real clarity about what we wanted to do and how we wanted to execute it.”

Bloxham believes the win has given the premiership a boost.

“I think we will have reminded people that we are still a real threat. We’ve always believed in ourselves and the beauty of where we are at is that we are still growing. We had an okay start and had some good wins, but then we just plateaued a little bit. It’s nice that our performances have been building in the last couple of weeks and that’s probably what I’m most proud of.”

The Steel held a one goal advantage at the end of the first quarter, but would have loved a few more after forcing plenty of errors out of the unbeaten Pulse.

Leading by as many as three during the quarter, Steel looked set to capitalise before a muddly finish by both teams ended 14-13.

Laura Overton made her Steel debut off the bench early in the quarter as an injury replacement for Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, earning a turnover before heading back to the sideline.

The fightback was predictable from a team as strong as the visitors, and they looked set to take the lead midway through the quarter before the Steel were spurred into action, leaping away from 20-all to lead 32-27 at the break.

Halftime arrived in dramatic circumstances with Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit muscling a rebound as the clock ticked down and then Lenize Potgieter rebounding her own long-range miss to beat the buzzer and steal an extra goal.

The third quarter was a barnstormer for the home team, taking the period 17-11 on the back of vital turnovers from Abby Erwood and Overton, who replaced her at goal defence late in the spell.

The Steel were making their own luck and riding the opportunities on the back of a raucous home crowd.

The final quarter was a solid finish for the Steel, Kendall McMinn and Georgia Heffernan getting time off the bench.

Overton, who was actually supposed to be managing the ball girls at tonight’s game before a late call up, earned a special mention from coach Bloxham.

“It was great, it was a forced thing with the blood and she didn’t get a chance to think about it, she was just out there on court. She did a great job and I’m really proud of her. After she’d got that monkey off her back it was great to send her back out again and it was fantastic reward for her.”