Northern Mystics are back in second place in the ANZ netball Premiership, after a 45-39 victory over Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.
In the last full round at the Auckland Netball Centre, the Mystics took control of the middle quarters through the defence of Sulu Fitzpatrick, the attack of Peta Toeava and the shooting of Grace Nweke, who carried her side's scoring efforts with 39 from 47 attempts.
In a consistent team effort, the Magic threw everything they had into the match and in the final seconds, they were denied a bonus point they probably deserved.
The Mystics were coming off a six-goal loss to Southern Steel, while the Magic were playing for pride and redemption, after being convincingly beaten by the Pulse on Friday.
The unbeaten Pulse top the standings with 40 points from 10 wins. The Mystics have 25 points, Tactix 24, Stars 17, Steel 14 and Magic 10.
The teams now head home to play the remainder of their games.
Meanwhile, Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie will step down from her role at the end of the season.
She took over in 2017 and took the side to the post-season for the first time. They then went on to host the Grand Final the following year and won the title for the first time in 2019.
"I just spend a lot of time away from home, that's the key driver for this decision,'' McCausland-Durie says. "Also, there needs to be that opportunity to keep growing this [Pulse/Netball Central] and that often means a change is needed.''
McCausland-Durie has made the commute from her Palmerston North family and home to the Pulse's Wellington base several times a week over the four years, and this season has been extra challenging with the number of away games.
