In a frantic last couple of minutes, the Northern Mystics continued their defensive dominance as they held out the WBOP Magic for a 40-38 win in front of a vocal crowd at The Trusts Arena in Auckland on Monday night.

Shooter Saviour Tui exemplified the value of the super shot when nailing three in the last four minutes to draw the Magic to within three in the last minute of the game, and with it a sniff of snatching a last-gasp win.

Not a match for the purist, both teams squandered numerous opportunities in an error-strewn outing, but the Mystics held the edge throughout the 60 minutes, on the back of a high-quality defensive effort.

Spearheaded by rising young goalkeeper Catherine Hall, who notched three rebounds, seven intercepts and six deflections, the Mystics non-stop defence pushed the Magic into a rash of turnovers and lack of flow which took a toll.

The Mystics got off to a cracking start, showing great ball speed through court while offering a slick supply at the shooting end. On the other side of the coin, big defence across the court denied the Magic any momentum and faltering on attack.

With the home side scoring the first six goals, the Magic were forced into a tactical timeout after 5mins to gather their thoughts. That resulted in their first successful goal taking 5 ½ minutes but a competitive showing for the remainder of the quarter.

Mystics in-circle defensive pairing of Michaela Sokolich-Beatson and Catherine Hall were instrumental in doing an expert job in shutting down the Magic shooting threats of Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Tui.

That helped the Mystics retain their edge and head into the first break with a 12-8 lead following a low-scoring opening.

The second stanza proved one of ebbs and flows, both teams having their moments but unable to sustain momentum in an even lower scoring 15 minutes.

Magic defenders Georgia Tong and Erena Mikaere made life tough at times for the Mystics shooters while it was almost a repeat scenario at the other end where long passages of play ensued with no goals being scored.

Both sides enjoyed mini runs, the Magic clawing back to within two but invariably being let down with careless turnovers.

Super shot specialist Filda Vui nailed a timely double-pointer to give the Mystics some breathing space when heading into the lowest halftime score of the season leading 21-17.

The Mystics defenders of Hall, Sokolich-Beatson, Katie Te Ao and Tayla Earle continued to wreak havoc at the Magic’s attacking end, filling the space, denying passing lanes and options as the visitors’ efforts broke down time and again.

With the heat constantly on them, the Magic shooters were forced into a string of errors while there were numerous held balls called throughout the match as the options dried up.

In a match dominated by physicality, play was often stilted and unable to flow, causing turnovers for both teams throughout court and low scoring options, but still the Mystics were able to retain control over proceedings.

Both teams made personnel changes, but it was the magic of Vui from the super shot zone that added some late excitement. Back-to-back two-pointers from Vui gave the Mystics a little bit of relief when they grabbed a 32-25 lead heading into the last turn.

Heading into the final quarter the Magic found a bit more momentum with the introduction of Shooter Kate Taylor and moving Tui out to GA.

But the Mystics continued to show their flair and patience with the ball in hand, taking their time and ensuring safe passage into the shooters to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

The Magic stayed within reach throughout, but their mounting error rate meant they were constantly on the back foot and unable to threaten consistently.

It is now only five days before these teams meet again in Hamilton, and as they have shown, the contest is fierce, and we should expect fireworks.