Horror first and third quarters from the Northern Stars handed the Te Wananga o Raukura Central Pulse a convincing 68-42 win in Porirua to complete round six of the ANZ Premiership.
The last time the two sides met in round 4 the Pulse prevailed 50-61 on the back of a horror second quarter from the Stars who were also without midcourter Temepara Bailey.
Charlee Hodges earned the starting goal attack spot following an impressive match off the bench against the Mystics last week, but it was the Pulse who shot out of the blocks and quickly built an 11 goal lead.
The Pulse shooting combination of Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Aliyah Dunn made the Stars pay for their handling errors as they slotted goals from all over the circle to build an 8-19 quarter time lead.
Stars head coach Kiri Wills made changes at both ends with Kate Burley coming on for Storm Purvis and Halpenny replacing Hodges.
The line-up settled much better but still failed to make inroads into the Pulses’ lead.
Shooter Maia Wilson was closely double teamed by the Pulse defence which created turnover ball for the home side, much to the applause of the Porirua crowd.
Bailey moved to wing attack with Holly Fowler coming on at center and Mila Reuelu-Buchanan benched.
The Stars moved to within 8 goals but more errors across the court had the home side up 34-21 at half time.
The Pulse ball movement consistently caught the Stars off guard as the lead ticked over to twenty goals during the third quarter.
The pairing of Fowler and Bailey started to gel and at times looked promising, but the Pulse were determined to keep building on their lead, comfortably ahead 53-32 with fifteen minutes remaining.
Changes from both sides in the fourth quarter failed to slow the Pulse momentum as they romped home to a dominating win.
The Northern Stars return home to take on the Splice Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic on Monday 8th April at Pulman Arena from 7.40pm. Tickets available here
