With the disruption caused by Covid, it was the first outing for both teams in nearly three weeks, the Stars lining up for just their third game of the season and, understandably, it was a rusty start from both.
Pleased to finally be tasting on-court action again, both teams felt the effects of not playing recently but produced a competitive and entertaining outing. With their midcourt having the edge, the Stars found their accuracy at both ends to gradually assert their overall dominance.
Despite some players on limited minute allocations, The Stars had a settled look to their line-up, with goal attack Amorangi Malesala getting a rare start.
Showing more fluency on attack, the Stars enjoyed plenty of possession but weren’t always accurate with their finishing. It was the opposite story for the Tactix, who were very accurate under the hoop but lacked volume as the Stars hit the first break with a 15-12 lead.
Scoring the first two goals on the resumption, the Tactix were poised to push on but it was the Stars who gained the much-needed momentum through the middle stages of the stanza.
With Samon Nathan and Te Paea Selby-Rickit orchestrating the home side’s attack line, the Tactix couldn’t quite find their consistency in this area, with the Stars finding their groove with some slick through-court play.
Ageless defender Anna Harrison, wo turned 39 yesterday, gained more prominence in shutting down the threat of towering Tactix shooter Ellie Bird as the visitors made a decisive run.
Defender Elle Temu and shooter Jamie Hume were introduced in the second period for the Stars, who won a tight second stanza to lead 31-26 at the main break.
The third quarter followed a similar trend with both sides enjoying mini runs but with neither able to completely stamp their initiative.
As they did for much of the match. the Stars were able to absorb pressure and respond with productive efficiency to keep their grip on proceedings.
With midcourters Gina Crampton and Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, in just her second game of the season, holding sway through the midcourt with their feeding and snappy through-court transition, it was the Stars who continued to build.
Increasingly finding their flow on attack and effective challenge on defence pushed the Stars out to a handy 47-40 lead at the last turn and they never looked back.
The two teams meet again on Wednesday at Bruce Pullman Arena for the Stars’ first home game of the campaign.
