The Mystics have become the third team to win back-to-back ANZ Premiership titles after a dramatic one-goal victory over the Pulse.
Tears flowed for Grace Nweke as the final whistle went, the star shooter landing the goal to lift the spoils with the Mystics winning 54-53 in a pulsating Grand Final at TSB Arena in Wellington.
LATEST HEADLINES:
The match delivered in every aspect in a seesaw battle between the two best teams in the league going right down to the last second of play.
And the clash came down to the deciding quarter which included a two-minute suspension to Phoenix Karaka following a late challenge on Whitney Souness.
There was also a couple of key offensive penalties, a huge intercept from Pulse captain Kelly Jackson, a defensive lift from the Mystics to swing fortunes yet again and a raucous home crowd almost pulling their Pulse side into the winners’ circle.
The Pulse looked to have snatched the victory, having chased the Mystics for much of the match, but a key miss in the shooting circle with less than a minute to play gave the visitors the sniff they needed to turn the tables.
It was Peta Toeava who got the ball safely into the hands of Nweke who missed on her first attempt but landed the second in the last second in what proved to be the winning goal.
Both teams deserved plenty of praise in just reaching the final having been dealt serious injury blows throughout the season – the Mystics using 12 players this season while the Pulse had 14 players take the court during their campaign.
Playing in her 149th national league match, Mystics defender Phoenix Karaka forced the first turnover to allow the visitors to register on the board first but in a sign of what was to come in the opening spell, the Pulse replied in similar vein.
Delivering on what many expected to be a key connection for the Mystics, Toeava showcased her uncanny ability to feed shooter Nweke from almost anywhere on attack, but the long reach of Jackson gave the shooter plenty to think about as Nweke missed three goals in the opening spell.
Trailing by four goals with under five minutes to play in the spell, the Pulse went to their bench with a heavily strapped Amelia Walmsley injected into the shooting circle and not long after Maddy Gordon was also called on and made an immediate impact coming on at centre.
A string of four goals from the Mystics came from the accumulative defensive pressure applied throughout the court – led by captain Michaela Sokolich-Beatson who worked hard to silence Pulse playmaker Whitney Souness.
Coach Tia Winikerei made no changes to her seven with a 14-9 lead heading into the second stanza as the Mystics looked to consolidate their lead.
It did not get any easier for the Pulse when an accidental head clash between Sokolich-Beatson and Souness forced the latter to leave the court with a gash to her forehead.
It meant a positional switch with Gordon moved to wing attack with Claire Kersten returning to the court at centre.
An intercept to Fa’amu Ioane sparked the Pulse who went on a run of three goals – taking the rhythm out of their attacking flow and bringing the home crowd back into the match.
Northern Mystics 54 (Grace Nweke 48/55, Filda Vui 4/4, Dani Binks 2/4) Central Pulse 53 (Amelia Walmsley 39/46, Tiana Metuarau 11/12, Martina Salmon 3/3)