The Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic have missed out on the ANZ Premiership playoffs in agonising fashion, falling barely short of their lofty target against the Northern Stars tonight. The Magic needed to beat the Stars by 15 goals to sneak into the third and final playoff place but, after flirting with that number in the final quarter in Tauranga, ended up 13-goal victors 58-45. The Magic closed the first quarter strongly, scoring seven of the last 10 goals, and they continued that run in the second to quickly increase their lead to 10 goals. But the Stars soon reversed their slide and trimmed the deficit to seven by halftime, leaving the Magic with some work to do. And the home side soon reached their magic number early in the fourth.

Source: Otago Daily Times June 21, 2017 19:52 UTC