Latest news with #HuttonFamilyTrophy
Otago Daily Times
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Selby-Rickit leads attack on former team
Te Paea Selby-Rickit used to be a game winner for the Southern Steel. Now she has punished them as a playmaker for the Mainland Tactix and led her new team to a 57-49 victory in Invercargill on Saturday. The goal attack was utterly dominant across the court for the Tactix, who retained the Hutton Family Trophy and stayed at the top of the ANZ Premiership ladder. Selby-Rickit might have slotted only nine goals, but she dominated the attack end with 36 feeds, 27 goal assists and 17 centre pass receives. It was a frustrating result for the Steel, who let the Tactix get a roll on and were fighting back for much of the game. Steel co-captain Kate Heffernan made a welcome return from injury, albeit on managed minutes. Steel coach Wendy Frew said the result was a "tough one to swallow". "It's a tough one," Frew told TVNZ. "The girls really brought the energy and the hype, and we just couldn't get over the line. "It felt like it was a game we were coming back into. I never thought it was out of our reach. "When we get down by that, we're chasing twos and we missed a couple of rebounds on that two. "In terms of our defence game, we just need to be more united and get ball for each other. We're not working as units as well as we need to." Paris Lokotui — in her 50th game — came up with an intercept in the pocket and the Tactix moved swiftly to find Ellie Bird on the base. When the Steel let the ball do the work and moved it around the circle edge, it opened up their attacking end to find Georgia Heffernan on the base. Centre Kimiora Poi split the circle with a nice feed to Aliyah Dunn. Carys Stythe picked up an outside arm tip, but the Steel squandered the gain at the other end. But the Steel came home strongly at the tail end of the quarter to trail 16-14 at the first break. Selby-Rickit burnt the Steel on the centre pass, popping out the middle channel to allow depth on the Tactix second phase. That helped Bird, who held high in the circle to give herself space along the base. Lokotui again snaffled a cross-court ball and Selby-Rickit's shooter-to-shooter offloads were perfect. The Steel players put one another under pressure on the pass and the take, and Tactix defenders Jane Watson and Karin Burger confused the space. That helped give the visitors a 26-19 lead, their biggest of the game. Abby Lawson came on at goal defence in a bid to shut down Selby-Rickit and Kate Heffernan at wing defence. There was a lift in the defence pressure thanks to the changes. They put on a strong zone to shut down the middle for the Tactix attackers. But the Tactix's ball placement split the zone open to find a way to their shooters. They withstood the pressure and forged ahead for a 32-26 lead at halftime. Kate Heffernan moved into centre, shifting Poi back to wing attack for the Steel to start the third quarter. The Tactix picked up where they left off, finding Bird far too easily under the post. Once Stythe moved her feet around Bird, she grabbed a deflection — but again the Steel could not make it count. The Tactix went on a six-one run and suddenly led by 10. The Steel got stuck running, and not making any direct movements on attack, and defensively, they struggled to come off the body and pick up any ball. After a slow start to the quarter, the Steel came right in the final minutes. It took until the end of the third quarter before Dunn slotted the first accurate two-pointer of the game. The Steel picked up a good rebound at the other end, and Dunn followed up with another two to to trail 45-37 at the break. The Steel came back to level the final quarter 12-12 but were unable to get within five for a bonus point. ANZ Premiership The scores Mainland Tactix 57 Ellie Bird 37 (37/42), Te Paea Selby-Rickit 9 (9/11), Martina Salmon 11 (11/14) Southern Steel 49 Aliyah Dunn 42 (39/45), Georgia Heffernan 7 (7/14) Quarter scores: Tactix 16-14, 32-26, 47-37.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Frustrating result for Steel as Tactix stay on top
Te Paea Selby-Rickit used to be a game winner for the Southern Steel. Nowadays she is punishing them as a playmaker for the Mainland Tactix and leading them to a 57-49 victory in Invercargill this afternoon. The goal attack was utterly dominant across the court for the Tactix, who retain the Hutton Family Trophy and stay at the top of the ANZ Premiership ladder. Selby-Rickit might have only slotted nine goals, but she dominated the attack end with 36 feeds, 27 goal assists and 17 centre pass receives. It was a frustrating result for the Steel, who let the Tactix get a roll on and were fighting back for much of the game. Steel co-captain Kate Heffernan made a welcome return from injury, albeit on managed minutes, in the second quarter. Paris Lokotui – in her 50th game – came up with an intercept in the pocket and the Tactix moved swiftly to find Ellie Bird on the base. Erikana Pederson's quick release to Bird at the back helped the visitors. When the Steel let the ball do the work and moved it around the circle edge, it opened up their attacking end to find Georgia Heffernan on the base. Centre Kimiora Poi split the circle with a nice feed to Aliyah Dunn. But the Tactix still held a 13-9 lead heading into the two-point time. Carys Stythe picked up an outside arm tip, but the Steel squandered the gain at the other end. But the Steel came home strong to the tail end of the quarter to trail 16-4 at the first break. Selby-Rickit burnt the Steel on the centre pass, popping out the middle channel to allow Pederson to get depth in the Tactix' second phase. That in turn helped Bird, who held high in the circle to give herself space along the base. Lokotui again snaffled a cross-court ball and Selby-Rickit's shooter-to-shooter offloads to Bird were perfect. The Steel put each other under pressure on the pass and the take, and Tactix defenders Jane Watson and Karin Burger confused the space. That gave the visitors a 26-19 lead, the biggest lead of the game. That saw the introduction of Abby Lawson at goal defence in a bid to shut down Selby-Rickit's dominance and Kate Heffernan at wing defence. The Steel came within three forcing the Tactix to call a time-out. There was a lift in the defence pressure thanks to the changes. They put on a strong zone to shut down the middle for the Tactix attackers. But the Tactix ball placement split the zone, and the circle, open to always find a way to their shooters. They withstood the pressure and forged ahead for a 32-26 lead at halftime. Kate Heffernan moved into centre, shifting Poi back to wing attack for the Steel to start the third quarter. The Tactix picked up where they left off, finding Bird far too easily under the post. But once Stythe moved her feet around Bird she grabbed a deflection – but again the Steel could not make it count. Their turnover to conversion rate hurt them and the Tactix went on a six-one run to open and suddenly led by 10. The Steel got stuck running, and not making any direct movements on attack. Defensively, they struggled to come off the body and pick up any ball. After a slow start to the quarter, the Steel came right in the final minutes. It took until end of the third quarter before Dunn slotted the first accurate two-pointer of the game. The Steel picked up a good rebound at the other end, and Dunn followed up with another two to trail 45-37 at the break. The Steel came back to level the final quarter 12-12, but were unable to get within five for a bonus point. Northern Stars defender Kate Burley has been ruled out for the rest of the season after re-aggravating her foot injury at training.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Tactix stay on top in frustrating result for Steel
Te Paea Selby-Rickit used to be a game winner for the Southern Steel. Nowadays she is punishing them as a playmaker for the Mainland Tactix and leading them to a 57-49 victory in Invercargill this afternoon. The goal attack was utterly dominant across the court for the Tactix, who retain the Hutton Family Trophy and stay at the top of the ANZ Premiership ladder. Selby-Rickit might have only slotted nine goals, but she dominated the attack end with 36 feeds, 27 goal assists and 17 centre pass receives. It was a frustrating result for the Steel, who let the Tactix get a roll on and were fighting back for much of the game. Steel co-captain Kate Heffernan made a welcome return from injury, albeit on managed minutes, in the second quarter. Paris Lokotui – in her 50th game – came up with an intercept in the pocket and the Tactix moved swiftly to find Ellie Bird on the base. Erikana Pederson's quick release to Bird at the back helped the visitors. When the Steel let the ball do the work and moved it around the circle edge, it opened up their attacking end to find Georgia Heffernan on the base. Centre Kimiora Poi split the circle with a nice feed to Aliyah Dunn. But the Tactix still held a 13-9 lead heading into the two-point time. Carys Stythe picked up an outside arm tip, but the Steel squandered the gain at the other end. But the Steel came home strong to the tail end of the quarter to trail 16-4 at the first break. Selby-Rickit burnt the Steel on the centre pass, popping out the middle channel to allow Pederson to get depth in the Tactix' second phase. That in turn helped Bird, who held high in the circle to give herself space along the base. Lokotui again snaffled a cross-court ball and Selby-Rickit's shooter-to-shooter offloads to Bird were perfect. The Steel put each other under pressure on the pass and the take, and Tactix defenders Jane Watson and Karin Burger confused the space. That gave the visitors a 26-19 lead, the biggest lead of the game. That saw the introduction of Abby Lawson at goal defence in a bid to shut down Selby-Rickit's dominance and Kate Heffernan at wing defence. The Steel came within three forcing the Tactix to call a time-out. There was a lift in the defence pressure thanks to the changes. They put on a strong zone to shut down the middle for the Tactix attackers. But the Tactix ball placement split the zone, and the circle, open to always find a way to their shooters. They withstood the pressure and forged ahead for a 32-26 lead at halftime. Kate Heffernan moved into centre, shifting Poi back to wing attack for the Steel to start the third quarter. The Tactix picked up where they left off, finding Bird far too easily under the post. But once Stythe moved her feet around Bird she grabbed a deflection – but again the Steel could not make it count. Their turnover to conversion rate hurt them and the Tactix went on a six-one run to open and suddenly led by 10. The Steel got stuck running, and not making any direct movements on attack. Defensively, they struggled to come off the body and pick up any ball. After a slow start to the quarter, the Steel came right in the final minutes. It took until end of the third quarter before Dunn slotted the first accurate two-pointer of the game. The Steel picked up a good rebound at the other end, and Dunn followed up with another two to trail 45-37 at the break. The Steel came back to level the final quarter 12-12, but were unable to get within five for a bonus point. Northern Stars defender Kate Burley has been ruled out for the rest of the season after re-aggravating her foot injury at training.
Otago Daily Times
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Steel thwarted late in trophy game
It was a game that had everything — two-point shots, a late scratching, an assistant coach hitting the court, a suspension and a centurion. The Southern Steel looked sharp but succumbed 57-50 against the Mainland Tactix in Christchurch on Sunday night. It was the tightest game in the opening round of the ANZ Premiership and was a contest worthy of the inaugural Hutton Family Trophy. Steel shooter Aliyah Dunn notched her 100th game back where it all began and assistant coach Liana Leota (40) returned to her roots when she was injected as a replacement in the third quarter. She pulled on the dress after co-captain Kate Heffernan was ruled out with a knee injury. Defender Carys Stythe was superb in her Steel debut with nine deflections and six gains. But they let the little moments get the better of them. "I think we let ourselves kind of crumble under pressure in that last second half," co-captain Kimora Poi told Sky Sport. "We came at them in the first half but we just let little basics slip. "We've got more to give." Serina Daunakamakama got the nod at wing attack, with Poi moving in the middle. Poi's connection with Dunn from their Tactix days benefited the Steel immediately. Poi was the engine room of the midcourt and fed Dunn nicely over the tough Tactix defenders. The home side looked sharp with their settled shooting line up in Te Paea Selby-Rickit feeding Ellie Bird and Erikana Pederson hardly missed a beat at wing attack. The penalties started to mount against the Steel with Stythe and Abby Lawson caught on the body. That allowed the Tactix to exploit and push ahead. The Steel tried to attack the two-point shot early in the period — it is in action for the final five minutes of each quarter — but their accuracy was off. The Tactix, however, kept the scoreboard ticking over with just the one-pointers and led 14-10 at the first break. They continued with that roll to start the second quarter and jumped out to a seven-goal lead. But Stythe started to win the battle over Bird, putting her off her shot and Georgia Heffernan levelled the score at the other end. Heffernan sank the first two-pointer of the game to take the lead. Just as the Tactix looked to pull ahead again, Heffernan drained another two, and then dished off to Dunn, to lead 27-26 at halftime. Martina Salmon was injected at goal shoot, in a bid to combat Stythe's growing dominance in the circle. The Steel started to get more depth on their second phase, allowing a more direct entry to the post. Daunakamakama grew in confidence throughout the game, picking up a tip off the Tactix centre pass. Jane Watson and Karin Burger continued to mix up their positioning in the circle for the Tactix, and Watson was rewarded when she snaffled a cross-court ball. Nothing could separate the two, until the Tactix had a mini surge of four goals through the middle. Enter Leota. The assistant coach — playing her 211th domestic game — came on at wing attack to settle the attack end. Down by three, the Steel took the risk with the two-pointers again and Watson boxed out strong to pick up the crumbs. At the other end, Salmon slotted the Tactix first two-pointer to lead 42-37. But Dunn replied with her own, closed the gap to two — and Stythe rejected Salmon's two-point attempt. The Tactix held a 42-41 lead at the third quarter. It was a game of runs and the Tactix came out of the break strong to lead 47-44. Dunn was questionably suspended for clipping Karin Burger when trying to keep the ball in court. That left the Steel without a shooter for two minutes and the Tactix showed their experience. The Central Pulse thumped the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic 57-44 and the Northern Mystics had a big 71-55 win against an injury-hampered Northern Stars.
Scoop
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Tactix Remain Unbeaten By Southern Rivals
Press Release – Tactix Netball The VIP Frames and Trusses Tactix came away with a convincing 57-50 win over the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel in their first match of the ANZ Premiership in a high quality game of Sunday night netball. Honouring the memory of the late Kelly Hutton, who passed away in 2023 from ovarian cancer, and her sister Megan Hutton, the Hutton Family Trophy will be up for grabs every time the southern derby takes place. The Tactix maintained their dominance over their southern rival, going unbeaten by the Steel in their last 9 matches, with a passionate home crowd on the edge of their seats while the teams fought for ball possession. Coming onto the court for her debut, Holly Mathers took on the starting position at centre commanding the midcourt and convincingly feeding the ball into the goal circle. Captain Erikana Pedersen led the team through a close first quarter achieving a four point lead but with equal ball possession between the sides, the Tactix went into halftime with only a one point advantage. With the match neck-and-neck through the second quarter, the Steel stole valuable possession with intercepts in the midcourt changing the tide for the two teams, with the Steel leading at halftime. Goal shoot Ellie Bird set the winning tone, maintaining approximately 90% shooting accuracy throughout the first half while Martina Salmon (on her debut for the Tactix) brought the heat to the goal circle, sinking the first two-point goal for the Tactix in the third quarter. Both sides utilised the new time-out rule, taking the opportunity to break the flow of play during the second quarter, while the Tactix remained conservative on 2-point supershot attempts, with all shots (bar one) achieved from within the goal circle. The international pairing of Jane Watson and Karin Burger were hot on defence, maintaining pressure in the Steel shooting circle, proving to be critical following the Steel's twelve, 2-point shot missed attempts. The victory is an early statement from the Tactix, and is a testament to Head Coach Donna Wilkins' early work in shaping the team into a connected, competitive unit. Next week the team takes on the Stars at Pulman Arena in Auckland.
