In a must-win match, victory over the Southern Blast has propelled the defending champion Comets back to the top of the Synergy Hair Netball League with just two rounds of the regular season remaining.
A strong fourth quarter set them up for a 66-57 victory over the winless Blast at Pulman Arena in Auckland on Saturday, the two teams separated by only a handful of goals for much of the match.
With the top two teams going through to the 5 July Grand Final, the pressure is starting to mount, and the nine-goal win pushes the Comets back into first place on the ladder, one point ahead of Mainland and Central Manawa who are both on 12 points.
But the Comets were made to work hard for their third win of the season as only one goal separated them and the Blast at Pulman Arena at both the first quarter mark and at halftime as the latter, with nothing to lose, played with plenty of intent.
The Blast made the stronger of the starts, four straight goals to give them an early 5-1 advantage as they made the most of on-court minutes from Southern Steel shooter Summer Temu.
Her circle team-mate, Grace Southby, started with plenty of confidence on both her feed into Temu and accuracy with her shooting radar.
It forced the Comets to lift their defensive performance as turnovers helped the hosts back into the game as they found their rhythm up front to level the scores midway through the spell.
Both sides struggled with connections late in the spell and a super shot from replacement Blast goal attack Lucy Morrison helped the visitors to a 17-16 lead at quarter time.
The defensive pressure at either end forced a number of early turnovers in the second quarter but it was the Comets who grabbed their opportunities to open a four-goal buffer before the Blast made a number of personnel changes.
Finding the target of Temu – through the clever passing from Southby and Ella Macenzie – brought the Blast back into the game as they locked the scores at 24 apiece with seven minutes left in the half.
The match-up between Comets sharp shooter Jaelin Tulikaki and Blast defender Sovaia Sabutu provided a great battle with neither player giving an inch through the 15 minutes and again there was just one goal difference at the main break, this time the hosts holding the edge 34-33.
A couple of early missed attempts at goal allowed the Comets to build on their slender lead as Maro stepped up with her workload through the court on defence and her direction on attack.
The Comets opened their biggest lead of the game, out to a seven-point advantage, before the Blast finished with four unanswered points to go into the last spell trailing 45-47.
The two teams traded blows on the resumption of play before three straight goals from the Comets – the combination of Maro and Hansen in the circle working well – allowed the hosts some breathing space heading into the last six minutes of play.
Blast defender Holly McRae worked tirelessly for the visitors, picking up seven gains for her side, but her team failed to make the most of those turnovers.