Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel v Go Media Stars
June 14, 2025
There was only one option as far as the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel was concerned – beat the Go Media Stars.
Mission accomplished.
The 62-46 victory in Auckland snapped a frustrating run of losses for the Steel and, while it wasn’t always perfect, it will provide a vital confidence boost at a crucial stage of the condensed 10-round ANZ Premiership.
An element of desperation was evident from both sides initially given they were fighting to climb of the bottom two rungs of the points ladder. After a messy start, it was the southerners who settled into the swing of the action, taking the lead halfway through the opening phase and never relinquishing the advantage.
A seven-goal blitz to kickstart the second quarter propelled the Steel’s momentum and earned a solid 11-goal buffer, but it was hauled back to 29-23 by halftime.
The Stars threatened to upset proceedings, creeping back within three briefly in the third quarter, but the Steel held firm under pressure and reaped the rewards of a more connected performance.
At opposite ends of the court, two standouts emerged to give Steel the overall edge. Goal keep Carys Stythe plucked possession at every chance, racking up five intercepts and six deflections, while goal shoot Aliyah Dunn was the recipient of some assertive feeding from Kimora Poi and naturally shined with an accurate 45/46 showing in return.
Goal attack Georgia Heffernan earns kudos for her unrivalled work rate, receiving the bulk of the centre passes and providing another crucial link on attack.
The return of Steel co-captain Kate Heffernan was a significant positive, although her involvement remains limited to half a game.
“It feels great and it’s good to be out there. Hopefully I can just keep building up the minutes and just tick all the boxes but I’m feeling really good and I’m excited for the next game,” she said.
“It’s so good to get a win. We’ve had a couple of tough games so to go out and do what we say we want to do is really cool. To have a performance we’re proud of is awesome.”
Heffernan said the view from the sideline offered a different perspective and she was impressed by what she saw from her teammates.
“We’ve talk about how in the last couple of weeks we haven’t really turned pressure into gains and I think we did that a lot better. Defensively, we were vying for more out front as opposed to just relying on the back. That pressure out front meant Carys could get hand to ball and it’s so awesome having her back there. She’s just gets ball and that’s what we need.”
Stythe was relishing the impact she could deliver.
“It was really fun. We just took what we’ve been doing at practice and actually put it out on court so that’s obviously something to smile about,” she said.
The Steel found the ability to absorb and then respond in strong bursts throughout the match while the injury-plagued Stars used their full complement of players in a desperate attempt to get their season going and away from the foot of the table.
The home side certainly had their moments in getting a fair share of turnover ball but couldn’t maintain their consistency for long enough. Replacement defender Julia Wynands gave her first outing at the elite level a good crack while shooter Charlie Bell, with 31 from 32, was a strong presence under the Stars hoop.
In the match between the pair at the bottom of the table, both sides tinkered with their starting line-ups.
The Stars opted for their starting shooters of last week, captain Maia Wilson and Monica Falkner while starting with a new in-circle defensive pairing of Kayla Johnson and Lili Tokaduadua.
The Steel welcomed Silver Fern midcourter Kate Heffernan back for her first start of the campaign after returning from injury, taking on the centre’s bib while Kimiora Poi slipped into wing attack.
Little separated the sides during a competitive and entertaining opening stanza, the Steel poking their noses in front in the closing minutes on the back of untimely Stars’ lapses.
The Steel shooter-to-shooter combination between Dunn and Georgia Heffernan, who had a productive outing, put the pair in good scoring positions while taking the visitors out to a 15-11 lead at the first break.
Making multiple changes on the resumption, the Stars made the worst possible start, the visitors’ delivering some sparkling through-court passages of play to score the first seven goals. Staring down a 10-goal deficit prompted a tactical time-out for the home side.
Showing more composure, the Stars gradually settled into their work, ensuring it wasn’t all one-way traffic for the Steel. A strong fightback, with Mila Reuelu-Buchanan a shining light through the midcourt and delivering quick feeds, and a firmer grip defensively, helped reduce the margin.
However, with the dominant figures of Dunn and defender Stythe getting the upper hand under the respective hoops, the Steel headed into the main break on the front foot when leading 29-23.
Spear-headed by 1.96m shooter Bell, the Stars had all the momentum to start the third spell and with it their best phase of the match. Full of purpose the Stars had a storming start to push the Steel into error and climb right back into contention.
Finding their flow on attack, the Stars clawed the deficit back to three goals and with a real sniff of forcing the issue. However, just as quickly, they had too many rushes of blood while undoing all the good work with a string of soft turnovers.
Regrouping the Steel held them at arms-length and poured on the heat during the closing minutes. At the forefront, Dunn and Stythe continued their influential presence with strong contributions to push the Steel out to a comfortable 47-35 lead at the last turn.
The Steel’s next assignment is against the Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse in Wellington on Monday, 23 June.
“We had a tough game against them last time that we were definitely a bit gutted about so I think we have a little bit of fire in our bellies to go out and prove ourselves against them,” Heffernan said.
Official Result and Stats:
Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel: 62
Go Media Stars: 46
Shooting Stats - Steel:
Aliyah Dunn 45/46, super shot 1/2
Georgia Heffernan 13/15, super shot 1/3
Shooting Stats - Stars:
Maia Wilson 10/12, super shot 0/1
Monica Falkner 5/10
Charlie Bell 31/32, super shot 0/3
ANZ Fans' Player of the Match: Carys Stythe (Steel)
