Stacey Marinkovich’s 50th match as Australian Diamonds head coach was marred by a second loss to New Zealand to mark the halfway point of the 2024 Constellation Cup.
A challenging start from the Silver Ferns on home soil in Auckland set up an 11-goal, 63-52 victory, forcing Australia into wholesale changes as they worked to produce a spark in front of a solid Ferns crowd.
While the margin didn’t grow throughout the match, there was no denying the pressure across the court as both teams worked in overdrive to produce the turnover ball that just wasn’t coming.
A run of five goals midway through the first quarter gave the Ferns the upper hand heading into the first break, with great speed down the court making it hard to stop Player of the Match - and future NSW Swift - Grace Nweke in the air.
Things did not get any easier for the Diamonds in the second quarter as the pressure mounted.
The Ferns’ rhythm and crowd energy were a challenging beast to navigate, with the ball speed down the court giving no chance to the Diamonds defence in their pursuits for turnover ball.
With a 10-goal margin at half-time, there was work to be done in the next 30 minutes.
The Diamonds opened the second half with a renewed energy, coming out strong and going goal-for-goal early.
Sophie Dwyer’s determination was on show, building on her second quarter entry to the match with a couple of deflections to her name and a solid combination with with Sophie Garbin.
Hesitance on the feed into the goal circle was an issue for the Diamonds attack, allowing the Ferns to get their hands to the ball and propel it back up the court to Nweke.
With defensive rotations aplenty, the Diamonds worked in overdrive to slow down the court craft and reduce the scoreline and did put some good patches together.
The final term unfortunately saw much of the same, with the Diamonds able to score continuously off their centre pass but unable to eat into the scoreline.
With a 0-2 record returning to Australian soil this week, the Diamonds will look to repeat some recent history to overturn the deficit.
The Diamonds and Ferns will go head-to-head on Sunday in Perth for the third test.
