The Central Pulse earned their first win in the ANZ Championship in thrilling fashion with a 53-52 win against the NSW Swifts.
The Rivalry Round of the ANZ Championship produced two pieces of history on Sunday with the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic becoming the first New Zealand team to win in Australia and the Pulse celebrating a famous win against the defending champions.
It was a win the Pulse fully deserved in a match that was tight from start to finish.
Where their composure had failed them earlier in the season, they did not falter this time as captain Cushla Lichtwark called for focus as the clock ticked down towards an historic win at Te Rauparaha Stadium with rugby great Jonah Lomu watching on.
Goal attack Paula Griffin was outstanding for the home team, taking on the bulk of the shooting responsibilities and doing so with aplomb, nailing 35 of her 39 attempts.
Te Amo Amaru-Tibble played her part too with 18 from 21 as did midcourters Camilla Lees and Ngarama Milner-Olsen who provided some quality ball into the circle.
At the other end Althea Byfield kept the crowd cheering with several key intercepts in a battle with Catherine Cox that was worth the price of admission alone.
Cox's stats of 26 goals from 37 attempts tells the tale with the usually reliable goal shoot knocked off her stride by the close attention she endured from Byfield and Bessie Manu.
The scores were neck and neck after the opening quarter and the Swifts held a slender 28-27 lead at the half-time break.
The Pulse edged ahead in the third quarter but could not maintain their lead as Susan Pratley got the Swifts back on level terms to set up a tense final stanza which saw Griffin finally edge her team in front – a lead they did not relinquish.
The home side got off to a shaky start but after trailing 7-13 early in the opening quarter it found some rhythm and went on a five-goal surge run to claw its way back to 12-13 before squaring matters at 15-15 by the first break.
Byfield, fully recovered from her concussion problems, also provided some moments of entertainment with a couple of superb intercepts that got the crowd cheering.
She and Swifts skipper Cox tussled all match with neither willing to give an inch and both players at one point ended up sprawled on the floor.
At the other end Griffin and Amaru-Tibble were never rattled by the close attention of Rebecca Bulley, Kimberley Smith and kept the goals coming to ensure the Swifts were never allowed to pull clear.
A tight second quarter where the Pulse harried their opponents all round the court, gaining several intercepts, meant the teams were only separated by a solitary goal, 28-27 in favour of the Swifts, despite some superb long range shooting from Cox.
The third quarter saw the teams go goal for goal until Griffin broke the pattern to edge the Pulse in front for the first time.
Some excellent defence and even better drive through the court, which has been an area of concern this season, kept the ball flowing into the Pulse circle and Griffin and Amaru-Tibble got them out to a 39-36 lead.
But the Swifts fought their way back again as Pratley stepped up when Cox's accuracy deserted her to be tied 41-41 at three-quarter