A pre-match talk from former All Black great Jonah Lomu helped inspire the Central Pulse to their first ANZ Championship win.
Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie revealed after the nail biting 53-52 win against the NSW Swifts on Sunday that Lomu had spent around 45 minutes with the team prior to the game at Te Rauparaha Stadium in Porirua.
"He spoke really, really well. He was really inspirational. He talked about the ability to focus your own self heading into a performance and about having mentally and physically done your homework around your opponent," said McCausland-Durie.
"But he also talked about being really self prepared. He said when you can front the court with absolute courage and commitment everything is in your control."
Lomu's words of wisdom clearly struck a chord as the Pulse harried the defending champions from the start and never let them settle in their last match at home.
There was little to split the teams from start to finish. The first quarter ended 15-15 and only a goal separated the two sides at half-time – 28-27 in the Swifts' favour.
At three-quarter time they were locked up 41-41 before some superb shooting from Paula Griffin, who had an outstanding game at goal attack and nailed 35 of her 39 attempts, edged her side in front.
It was lead they never relinquished and the crowd erupted into cheers when the final whistle blew.
But it was the total team effort that delighted the coach.
"There were a lot of really good things. Defensively we got a lot more rebounds and our shooting stats were massive for us today.
"We talked a lot about setting the foundation, sticking to our basics and we saw people stick to that today and sustain it (for the full 60 minutes)."
The Pulse have suffered some heartbreakingly close losses already this season with a lack of composure at crucial times exposed in losses to the Canterbury Tactix and Northern Mystics especially.
Skipper Cushla Lichtwark made certain they would not fall into the same trap against the Swifts calling everyone together during an injury time out well into the final quarter.
"I talked about getting the basics right and to keep doing that. We were up by two (goals) and it was about making sure we kept doing the basics so we kept scoring the goals."
While delighted with the win, Lichtwark felt there was more to come from her side which finishes its season against the Vixens in Melbourne next weekend.
"It was a good all-round performance but we are definitely capable of more," she added.
The result leaves the Swifts on a run of eight successive losses near the foot of the table, a far cry from their grand final triumph against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic almost 12 months ago.
But captain Catherine Cox was quick to praise the Pulse's efforts.
"It's not been a great season for us by any stretch of the imagination. But we are certainly not downplaying the fact the Pulse played a really good game. They forced us into a lot of mistakes," the tall Aussie shooter said.
Cox said suggestions her side had under-estimated the Pulse, who had not won in 24 matches over two seasons, were way off the mark.
"We knew they were as desperate for that win as we were. They have just been so unfortunate for the last two years not