By Ashlee Tulloch
The Magic have never finished lower than third and have been runners-up twice in the ANZ Championships, but this year they want to be number one.
To get a chance to do that though they need to beat the Mystics, who they've already beaten and lost to this season.
“Oh honestly I don’t think I can describe how much this would mean to us even just to make the final,” says Magic defender Casey Williams.
“We've had a very up down season so for us to finish it off it would be like a cherry on top.”
After suffering a 43-42 loss against the Mystics in last year’s preliminary final, Magic goal attack Julianna Naoupu says the hunger is strong.
“That was gut wrenching, honestly and I think this time now we just want to go there and nail them,” she says.
So their plan of attack is clear
“For us, we want to come out of the gates like a steam roller and continue right on,” says Williams.
To topple a side that thrives on pressure the Magic know it will take everything they've got, even if that means hitting the deck.
“It's obviously not planned but if it happens, I put my heart out there every time and I will do it again,” says Williams.
It's expected the ‘Harrison hoist’ will play its part too, but Naoupu says they have it covered.
“We've been trying to practice with a couple of the girls at training last night and this morning and there’s heaps of ways to combat it.”
The Magic have their own bag of tricks with defender Elias Shadrock who played a crucial part in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s win.
“I’m looking forward to taking that last quarter in to the next game,” she says.
The Magic's last ten games have been do or die and they're confident that they can continue their winning streak on Monday night to make another grand final.
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