Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel v Go Media Stars – Rd 10
July 14, 2025
Pride is a powerful thing.
It certainly provided ample fuel for the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel in its final game of the 2025 season, accounting for the Go Media Stars 61-55 at ILT Stadium Southland.
While the clash was a dead rubber in terms of ANZ Premiership playoffs contention, motivation wasn’t lacking with both teams unleashing a frenetic pace.
Sure, the odd error crept in here and there, but free from pressure, risks were taken and the crowd responded eagerly as both teams delivered an entertaining performance.
With honours locked 28-all at halftime, the Steel simply couldn’t shake the dogged Stars and the biggest buffer established for the majority of the match was just four goals.
With bragging rights at stake, the intensity ramped up in the latter stages and, at times, the ensuing lack of discipline sent bodies sprawling.
Buoyed by home court advantage, the Steel dominated the final phase of the match to close its campaign with honour.
Head coach Wendy Frew was proud to add another win to the team’s tally.
“We wanted to finish on a high and put a good performance in. Pride probably helped us a lot in that game – in the end we kept our heads and it started to open up slightly but geez it was a grind and a hard slog,” she said.
“I’m proud of the girls. We asked them to put it all out there and have no regrets and that’s what they’ve done.”
The clash was closer than many pundits would have predicted and Frew was eager to praise their gritty opponent.
“I think the Stars played extremely well and I actually want to give them credit. They have obviously had a tough season and this was the last game with nothing to lose. We knew that was going to happen and they played really well against us,” she said.
“We were probably lucky to get the win to be honest but we’ll take it. If that was earlier in the season we’d be picking apart that game and there would be a lot to work on.”
The victory earned Steel fourth spot on the points table.
Both teams were out to finish the season on a positive note, the Steel looking to get over the disappointment of narrowly missing out on the Finals Series while the Stars have not had luck on their side in an injury-ravaged campaign.
There was no lack of desire from either side, the Steel holding the edge in the second half to clinch the spoils on the back of a solid season.
Closely contested throughout, the Steel held a two-goal advantage coming into the final quarter during which they took control and shut down any chance of a Stars comeback.
Key targets at both ends, Aliyah Dunn for the Steel and the Stars Maia Wilson, did all that was asked of them from the goal shoot positions with Dunn nailing 42 from 43 and Wilson 44/45.
In the end, the Steel won the moments that mattered while having slightly the better of the possession stakes. The Stars competed gamely but just lacked the consistency to keep the Steel under the pump.
Both sides made solid and effective starts with the Steel managing to nose in front on the back of pacey and accurate attacking play which was expertly finished by shooters Dunn and Georgia Heffernan. The Stars also gained traction from the long game to bring the contest back to level terms.
Defensive pressure from Carys Stythe and Abby Lawson created turnover opportunities for the home side in the Stars attacking zone, ultimately iced by a super shot from Georgia Heffernan to push the Steel out to a 14-10 lead at the first break.
With defenders Lili Tokaduadua and Remi Kamo getting their hands to intercept opportunities on the resumption, the Stars clicked into gear. Converting their extra ball opportunities, the confidence levels lifted from the visitors.
That resulted in finding their flow, speed and accuracy on attack where the movement of captain Wilson opened the space under the hoop with the ball landing perfectly via Mila Reuelu-Buchanan and Lisa Mather.
Starting with an 8-4 run against them, the Steel took a tactical time out before the Stars nudged into narrow lead, the last five minutes of the second stanza going goal-for-goal and ending in a 28-all stalemate at the main break.
The Steel turned the tables during a high-scoring and entertaining third quarter. The home side needed no second invitation when pouncing on a couple of early lapses in the Stars scoring zone.
The response was rapid and highly accurate through-court play where Kate Heffernan and Kimiora Poi worked the ball expertly to set up the shooting duo of Georgia Heffernan and Dunn. The shooters worked seamlessly in tandem, Heffernan sharing the load while Dunn continued her strong season with an impressive showing.
The Stars hung on admirably, with midcourter Reuelu-Buchanan and Kate Heffernan having a mighty tussle while Wilson ended the stanza in style when sinking a super shot to narrow the Steel’s lead to 45-43 at the last break, leaving the game wide open.
Official Result and Stats:
Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel: 61
Go Media Stars: 55
Shooting stats – Steel
Aliyah Dunn: 42/43
Georgia Heffernan: 15/19, super shot 2/7
Shooting stats – Stars
Maia Wilson: 44/45, super shot 3/4
Crystal Maro: 5/9
Marie Hansen: Super shot 0/2
ANZ Premiership Player of the Match: Georgia Heffernan (Steel)
