The Bay of Plenty Magic have suffered their second consecutive loss to defending champions, Southern Steel in Round 10 of the ANZ Championship.
It comes as the latest devastating blow for a team that is riddled with the injuries of their experienced players late in the season.
It was a sombre mood for captain of the Magic, Casey Kopua, as she watched her team go down to the Southern Steel.
Kopua, who injured her foot, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season- her presence and experience clearly missed by her team.
"Losing someone like Casey at this point in the season is tough, but it's something we just have to deal with and the girls have a lot of heart. So they've just got to keep pushing and pushing and pushing because nothing comes easy," says on-court captain, Sam Sinclair.
Coming back off a win against top-of-the-table, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Pulse captain Wendy Frew was content with the performance of her team, but is still looking at areas for improvement.
"We talked about a really good Pulse performance and we really wanted to back it up tonight. Magic have been playing some really good netball, so we knew it was going to be tough. Really good to get the two points and obviously get a sixteen-goal buffer," she says.
Frew and her team have their eyes squarely set on the finals and will be looking to expand on their current form in order to get there.
"First half, we were a wee bit average, I thought, out there. Just a few too many soft turnonvers and we just didn't have a lot of energy out there, which is a bit disappointing. But, the second half was unreal and good to get up by a quality side by sixteen," says Frew.
The final score was a comprehensive 76-60 with the Steel set to take on the Silvermoon Tactix in the next round.