The Australian Diamonds have leveled the Constellation Cup series

The Australian Diamonds have leveled the Constellation Cup series at one-all after a 48-42 win over the Silver Ferns in Auckland.

Australia coach Lisa Alexander celebrated in her 100th Test in charge of the Diamonds with a comfortable victory in the second match of the four game series.

Australian shooter Gretel Tippett (23/24) was supreme under the ring, ably assisted by captain Caitlin Bassett (17/20) and Tegan Philip (8/9).

New Zealand meanwhile had a night to forget in the shooting circle with just a 71 percent success rate.

Australia Goal keeper Courtney Bruce subdued the Maria Folau-led Silver Ferns attack with an intensity that lifted the whole Diamonds side.

The four-Test series now heads to Sydney and Perth, where the Silver Ferns will aim to win the series for the first time in seven years.

Australia’s three-goal quarter-time lead was whittled to one when a contentious stepping call on Gretel Tippett went against the goal attack.

Australia boasted a 10-goal lead at one stage in the match that should have killed the contest.

Instead, Folau roared the Silver Ferns to life with a superb run.

The veteran attacker had a chance to narrow the lead to three on the eve of the last change, only to miss a long-range effort to end a damaging streak.

Bassett sat out the fourth quarter, with Philip deputising superbly as the Diamonds shut out hopes of a Kiwi comeback.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.