LG Mystics storm home against Fever

Saturday, 5 June 2010

The LG Northern Mystics kept their slim ANZ Championship playoff hopes alive with an entertaining 62-53 win over the West Coast Fever in Auckland today.

Very even through the first three-quarters of the match, the LG Mystics exploded into life during the final quarter with some dazzling play to put the seal on just their second win against an Australian team over the past three years.

The Fever, in eighth place coming into the game, were able to stay in touch for large chunks of the match but they eventually paid the price for a lack of shooting accuracy and a high penalty.

In contrast, Cathrine Latu continued her impressive season for the LG Mystics with an eye-catching 98 percent success rate with 40 goals from 41 shots.

There were no surprises in the Fever’s starting line-up while the home team, sitting in seventh before the match, opted for experience when giving veteran midcourter Jenny-May Coffin the nod at wing attack. However, it was the young Fever team who made the best opening before the LG Mystics recovered from a shaky start as the teams went goal-for-goal to the first break. Both sides were guilty of soft turnovers and messy patches through an inconsistent opening stanza.

Despite the tall timber evident in the game, including 1.92m shooter Caitlin Bassett and 1.96m defender Susan Fuhrman for the Fever, and the 1.89m Latu, it was two of the shortest players on court who made an early impact.

Dwarfed by many of those around her, Coffin was the steadying influence on attack for the home team while also snapping up a couple of handy intercepts. At the other end, nippy little goal attack Leah Shoard got through a big workload in setting up her shooting circle as the LG Mystics edged to a 13-12 first quarter lead.

A late surge heading into the halftime break proved productive for the LG Mystics after another closely-fought quarter ensued with the teams going toe-to-toe.

Respective goalkeeps, Althea Byfield, for the LG Mystics, and her opposite Fuhrmann did their best to stymie the influence of Bassett and Latu under the hoop with varying degrees of success as the contest remained tight.

LG Mystics goal attack Maria Tutaia was on song with some pinpoint feeding to Latu while also proving accurate on the long shot. Greater shooter accuracy was pivotal as the home team shaded the Fever in this area to take a handy 30-26 lead into the main break.

Both teams injected fresh legs for the second half with Grace Rasmussen replacing Coffin for the LG Mystics and Emma Beckett taking over from Andrea Gilmore on defence as play tended to mirror much of what had gone before.

Neither team was able to quite stamp their mark as each had their moments. Missed goals again proved costly for the Fever with LG Mystics defender Joline Henry prominent on the rebound.

With both teams offering solid defensive efforts, patience and consistency were rewarded as the visitors’ fought back strongly to close the gap. Again the pint-sized Shoard was an influential figure with her accurate passing to Bassett a key.

The LG Mystics just kept their noses in front to hold a slender 43-41 lead at the last break.

The steadying hand of Coffin was back for the run home as the LG Mystics confidence on attack grew. Finding the reliable Latu with more regularity, and the athletic Byfield reeling in a clutch of intercepts, the LG Mystics took charge in the final stanza as they continued to pull away.