Ekenasio hits clutch shot to sink Mystics

Ameliaranne Ekenasio drained the match-winning shot with time up to seal an extra-time 57-56 thriller against the Northern Mystics in Hamilton yesterday.

In front of a vocal home ground, Ekanasio’s clutch shot with the last act of the game completed a hefty comeback in a game the Magic had trailed by 10 after the first quarter.

To think the Magic didn’t take their first lead of the game until the final minute of the first of two three-minute periods of extratime, which had only been used to decide six previous ANZ Premiership games.

On a night opposite goal shoot Grace Nweke (39/42) didn’t miss her first shot until there was a shade over four minutes left on the clock, Ekenasio was superb at the opposite end, nailing a series of clutch shots down the stretch.

In the earlier match, the Northern Stars had a Pulse great helping them out.

Former Pulse captain Katrina Rore came out of retirement and played the second half of the Northern Stars’ 59-51 win against the reigning champion Central Pulse in Auckland yesterday.

Rore, who led the Pulse to three straight titles between 2018-2020, answered a one-off SOS call with Elle Temu unavailable due to illness, slotting in at the defensive end in the rematch of last year’s final.

The 35-year-old hadn’t played in the competition since 2020, when she made the last of her 147 appearances for the Pulse, and the still looked the part.

Her injection into the match coincided with the Stars outscoring the Pulse 18-11 in a decisive third quarter, one they utilised to power out to a 48-37 lead with 15 minutes to play.

The Pulse surged back to within five goals with seven minutes on the clock to give the hosts a scare at Pulman Arena, only for the Stars to tidy up their act and close the game out.

Goal shoot Maia Wilson was typically dominant in the attacking circle, draining 41 from 45 attempts, including a long-range bomb as time expired in the first half, while goal attack Jamie Hume drilled 18 of her 24 shots.