Strong shooting in the second and fourth quarter allowed the Hawks to pull away from their opponents and secure a 61-45 victory in front of a vocal crowd. 

Coach Ruth Tuohy said her side’s execution was key to the win.

“We stuck to our game plan and were able to get a lot more consistency,” she said.

“The support we had meant we were able to be proactive instead of reactive, which has happened previously when we have come up against them.

“In the past we have had to chase and challenge, but we really set the agenda for what we wanted to do and were able to control the game really well as a result.”

The Hawks managed a two-goal victory when the sides last met at the end of the regular season, and it seemed the two teams were picking up where they left off in the first quarter, with Cavaliers holding a 14-13 lead at the first break.

After drawing level inside the first minute of the second quarter, the Hawks broke their opponents’ pass to hit the lead. 

A couple of costly turnovers from the Cavaliers gave their opponents some breathing space as Hawks goal shooter Ashlea Mawer finished off some sharp work from her side’s defenders

The Hawks managed to hold on to a six-goal lead at half time, the score 31-25. 

Cavaliers managed to score first in the third quarter, but struggled to rein in the deficit, with their opponents jumping out to a 10-goal lead with seven minutes to play.

A see-sawing end to the quarter meant the Hawks held a 44-37 advantage at the last change.

Cavaliers had any hope of a comeback comprehensively extinguished in the final quarter as Mawer guided her side to a convincing win.

Cavaliers coach Dannie Carstens paid tribute to the Hawks on the night.

“They play a good brand of netball and they have pressure release valve in the form of a tall shooter like Ash Mawer,” she said.