Constellation Cup 2022 : Who won | Winner | Game 4

Exhausted Diamonds win Constellation Cup trophy back with epic championship quarter in final series game. Check out who won Constellation Cup

Constellation Cup 2022 : Who won | Winner | Game 4

The 2022 Constellation Cup was the 12th Constellation Cup series between Australia and New Zealand.

The series was held in October 2022 across four netball test matches, with two matches each held in New Zealand and Australia.

New Zealand were the defending holders of the cup, having defeated Australia by three games to one in 2021.

Who won Constellation Cup 

A week ago the Silver Ferns were sitting pretty – 2-nil up in the Constellation Cup and it looked like the Cup would stay in New Zealand’s hands.

A week later, the Constellation Cup is back in Australia and the Silver Ferns have got some work to do to get closer to their arch rivals.

The Australian Diamonds recouped the Constellation Cup after beating the Silver Ferns 57-53 on the Gold Coast last night.

The Silver Ferns led 30-25 at half time but had a horror third quarter, which they lost 19-8.

Australia has now won the Constellation Cup 10 times, to New Zealand’s two.

The score line was much better than Test 3 on Wednesday, when the Diamonds thrashed the Silver Ferns 62-47 in Melbourne.

Silver Ferns’ coach Dame Noeline Taurua said the first five minutes of the third quarter hurt them big time.

“Two offensive contacts and a missed shot …then we’re on the back foot,” Dame Noeline said.

Australian shooters Sophie Garbin and Steph Wood started running rings around the New Zealand defenders.

“Defensively we got caught on the back and there was a lot of speed, they got onto the circle edge. We got caught into catch up mode in our defence end, couldn’t stop it, couldn’t plug it.”

Constellation Cup winner

The third quarter is often referred to as the “championship quarter”.

Largely because many games are defined by the team that stands up during that 15-minute period.

And, in the wake of the largest crisis that has rocked the sport throughout its history, the Diamonds produced an unbelievable performance in the championship quarter of game four in the Constellation Cup series to seal a 57-53 victory and steal the trophy back from New Zealand.

Both teams claimed two matches on their respective home soils, seeing the Diamonds claim their 10th trans-Tasman title based on goal difference.

After starting the series 2-0 down, the team lifted in Melbourne on Wednesday to win by 15 goals, buoyed by a loud Australian crowd for the first time in more than 1,000 days.

With such a large winning margin, all the Diamonds needed to do was finish on top in the final match on the Gold Coast, which sounds easy enough, but again they started on the back foot.

Kelly Jury and Phoenix Karaka upped their defensive pressure on goal shooter Sophie Garbin (36/39), restricting her movement inside the circle and pigeonholing her right under the post.

Game 4

The Australian Diamonds have put a week of turmoil behind them to reclaim the Constellation Cup with a brilliant four-goal win over New Zealand.

The Diamonds fought back from a seven-goal first half deficit to run away with the 57-53 win on the Gold Coast – securing their 100th victory over New Zealand in the process.

Coach Stacey Marinkovich was left in tears on the final whistle after capturing her first Trans Tasman series win at the helm.

Staring down a series defeat when they returned home last week, having lost the opening two matches by a combined 13 goals, Australia overcame a hefty early penalty toll on Sunday to steal back the Cup over their biggest rivals.

The return of Jo Weston in defence and the introduction of Sophie Garbin at goal shooter ensured the Aussies took both games three and four.

Garbin finished the pick of the Diamonds shooters with 36 goals at 92% while Steph Wood contributed 21 goals at 78%.

For the Ferns, Grace Nweke had 39 goals at 91% while skipper Ameliaranne Ekenasio finished with 14/15.