By Sophie Taylor
A heaving home crowd in Wellington set the tone for an enormous opener to the 2024 Constellation Cup as the New Zealand Silver Ferns ran away with a 64-50 win on home soil.
The rivalry between the Origin Australian Diamonds and the New Zealand Silver Ferns is unmatched, and the first test of the series was no different.
The first test was a challenging one, as the Diamonds worked in overdrive to bring the heat in Jamie-Lee Price’s 50th game.
Chock full of physicality and hard-fought battles across the court, the momentum switched back and forth throughout the first quarter with neither side able to tip the scales their way.
Courtney Bruce’s return was marked early with two big grabs earning the Diamonds a two-goal buffer, but a strong finish from the Ferns gave them the upper hand at the end of the first term.
The high-pressure energy out on court multiplied in the second, as the Ferns continued to capitalise on missed opportunities from the Diamonds.
Maddy Gordon and Kimiora Poi’s connection was immense, and while Paige Hadley and Price piled on the pressure they could not wrest ball away from the Ferns in attack.
An eyewatering matchup between Courtney Bruce and Grace Nweke was the one to watch.
While the Diamonds were forced to make changes to stay in the contest, that was not one of them as Bruce’s presence continued to keep the Ferns on their toes.
With a nine-goal buffer at half time, there was lots of work to do after the main change.
Sophie Dwyer and Kate Kate Moloney were injected to begin the second half, with Dwyer in particular having an enormous start alongside Cara Koenen.
The pressure cooker intensified throughout the second half, with the Diamonds forced to use their full bench as the challenges kept on coming.
With a seven-goal margin at three quarter time, the final 15 minutes were feisty and saw the true highs and lows in action.
Despite reducing the margin to five goals during the early stages of the fourth term, the Silver Ferns built off their home crowd’s volume to run away with a 14-goal win.
The Diamonds will look to regroup ahead of Test Two in Auckland on Wednesday evening.
