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The Silver Ferns have snapped their losing streak against New Zealand men’s team to capture the Cadbury Series netball title.
He outscored the men in a thrilling fourth quarter to win 55-52 in the final at Palmerston North on Saturday night.
The men had had the upper hand over the Ferns, winning both Cadbury Series games against the Ferns last year, including the final. In Thursday’s clash between the sides, the men were comfortably victorious 60-47.
This was just the boost the Ferns were looking for ahead of next week’s three-test series against England in Hamilton, which begins on Wednesday.
READ MORE:
* Silver Ferns ready for rematch with New Zealand men after beating the U21s
* New Zealand men too strong for Silver Ferns in Cadbury Series
* Second-half rise propels Silver Ferns to Cadbury Series victory in game 1
In a frenzied fourth quarter, the Ferns jumped to a 48-41 lead, but the men are able to score quickly with just a couple of passes.
They were tied with the Ferns at 49, all with five minutes to play, but the world champions never broke down and closed out a tense competition.
Photograph by Michael Bradley
Silver Ferns wing attack Gina Crampton tries to win an aerial contest in the Cadbury Series final against New Zealand men.
Maia Wilson was outstanding for the Ferns after taking the floor in the second quarter, converting 27 of 30 attempts. The Ferns were impressive on defense, limiting the men to 59 attempts for the game, 10 fewer than them.
Next week’s series against England has been firmly on the mind of Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua for the past four days.
RNZ
Overtime with Stephen Hewson talks to Kiri Wills of the Silver Ferns coaching staff about the challenges ahead and we are also joined by Suzanne McFadden from LockerRoom and Bridget Tunnicliffe from RNZ.
Taurua rotated his 15-player squad during the Cadbury Series, managing minutes with four games over four days. Three Ferns players were also made available to New Zealand A-team on each match day, allowing Taurua to try out different combinations and get a better look at Ferns’ contenders.
The 15-player squad will be reduced to 12 on Sunday to face Commonwealth Games gold medalist England, who will be without their Australian Super Netball players.
Photograph by Michael Bradley
The Silver Ferns take to the court for the Cadbury Series final against the New Zealand men at Palmerston North.
The Silver Ferns started badly against men in their first game Thursday, but started brilliantly in the final.
They finished the first quarter strong with an 8-1 streak, allowing the Ferns to open a 16-10 lead, a stark contrast to Thursday, where they were seven goals (17-10).
Taurua went for a moving shooting circle from Captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Te Paea Selby-Rickit to start the game with starting goal kick Wilson on the bench.
In attack, the Ferns seemed more cohesive, compared to Thursday’s game, where it took a lot of passes to get to the edge of the circle. Middle players Gina Crampton and Shannon Saunders were able to find their targets safely between the height and long arms of the male defenders.
It was a complete team defensive effort on the part of the Ferns, who forced the men to miss some unusual opening losses and limited the ball supply to 2.14 meters from Junior Levi’s goal. Levi was only able to score six goals in the first 15 minutes, converting every attempt. Still he finished 36 of 39 for the game, including 13 in the final period.
The men’s team is full of classy players, and they quickly responded, opening the second quarter with a 7-3 flurry to take the lead from the Ferns.
Male defenders Jake Schuster and Timmy Apisai attempted several defensive lifts to try and stop Wilson, who sprang into action in the second quarter.
Winger Sam Winders, fighting for a midfield spot and Ferns’ recovery against England, was a defensive threat in the first half. He had to leave the court late in the second quarter with an ankle discomfort, but returned in the fourth quarter.
The Ferns entered halftime with a 25-22 lead with the men injured by 19 turnovers in the first half.
With five minutes to go in the third quarter, the men had leveled the score, but the Silver Ferns kept their composure and refused to fall apart.
Led by the sinking Wilson, the Ferns were able to stay ahead on the scoreboard and take a three-goal margin (42-39) in the final period.
The men put a powerful end to the game and threatened to take the title, but the Ferns kept their nerves and closed out a memorable victory.
Meanwhile, in the third and fourth tiebreakers, New Zealand A outscored New Zealand Under-21s 68-47 with Silver Ferns team member Grace Nweke scoring 46 goals in 53 attempts for the As.
TAKE A LOOK:
Silver ferns 55 (Te Paea Selby-Rickit: 7/14, Ameliaranne Ekenasio: 21/25, Maia Wilson: 27/30) New Zealand Men 52 (Junior Levi: 36/39, Daniel Jefferies: 8/10, Cameron Powell: 8/10) Quarterly scores: 1T: 16-10, HT: 25-22, 3Q: 42-39.
