The Steel lost 64-48 to the Northern Mystics to win the Georgie Salter Memorial Trophy in Dunedin tonight.
The Steel lost the second quarter 19-9, trailing only two at the break, with the Mystics penalizing the entire field and the entire post.
They were without their captain Sulu Fitzpatrick, who suffered a knee injury last week, but it didn’t matter.
Phoenix Karaka slid back and young Carys Stythe’s long arms in front caused problems.
Savior Tui was still a solid target in the back and her combination with Georgia Heffernan continued to grow.
It was a much better performance than losing 64-38 in the first round, but still it was the lack of consistency that let the Steel down.
When players picked up the ball, they struggled to put pressure on the scoreboard and defenses that were clear outside the circle early soon fell.
The Steel got off to a brilliant start to the game, sticking with the same line-up from last week.
The intensity was strong, the players cherished possession and went goal-for-goal.
The Mystics broke through seven minutes later, going up by two to lead 16-14 at halftime.
It was the second quarter that changed the game.
The Mystics took advantage of misplaced balls from the Steel and jumped out to an early 21-16 lead.
The visitors’ ball speed killed the Steel downfield and the pressure from the front of the circle dropped with players in chase mode.
Peta Tuava’s ability to reverse direction at high speed and slice forward cut the defenders to take the short ball and bomb it to Grace Nweke was deadly.
She was vocal and directed her offensive line to change their angles and the pace of the game.
Once the Mystics get going and the ball is bombed into the circle, there’s no stopping them.
Sometimes the feeds to Steel shooters could have come in earlier and it became harder to find that opening without the first option.
The Mystics took punishment and led 35-23 at halftime.
Sam Winders and Kate Heffernan had a position change in the third quarter, with Winders moving to center – and it worked.
Kate Heffernan’s arms made it harder for the Mystics feeders to see Nweke.
Kate Burley took a great interception and drew some penalties against Nweke to win the ball back.
The feeds went to the gunners sooner and there was more power on the attack.
Renee Savai’inaea, traditionally a wing defender, came into play with a wing attack and helped change the timing.
She strained and shielded space for Winders to find the edge of the circle, helping the Steel who only lost the third quarter by four.
It was also a better last quarter, where we picked up a lot of the ball in defense and turned up the intensity again to tie the quarter.