A mammoth second quarter from the Australian Diamonds led the charge to a 57-47 victory over South Africa in the fourth match of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games pool stage.
Their fourth win in a row, the Diamonds put the foot down after a tight opening term to get an important win on the board and claim top spot on the ladder.
Stacey Marinkovich took no chances against a confident South African lineup which was also undefeated leading into the match.
Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin took charge in attack, piling on the offensive pressure up against a fervorous South African defensive combination boasting returnee Karla Pretorius and in-form goal keeper Nicola Smith.
At the other end, Jo Weston and Courtney Bruce hummed to pile on eight gains between them, including six critical intercepts as the Proteas started to fire up.
Weston’s influence carved space for Jamie-Lee Price to work on shutting down Khanyisa Chawane, while captain Liz Watson was composed as ever with ball in hand, registering 34 feeds and zero turnovers under heavy attention from Jamie van Wyk.
Rare misses from the Aussie contingent enabled the South African unit to gain back precious ball in the second half, but the damage had already been done.
Thirty-nine goals from star goal shooter Elmeré van der Berg ensured the Diamonds could never truly relax in defence, with her SSN form shining through against her familiar adversaries.
Despite the second-half challenge, which the Proteas won 26-25, the Diamonds held strong to deliver a solid victory and set up a busy weekend of netball action.
With one match remaining against Northern Ireland on Thursday afternoon (Friday morning AEST), the Diamonds have locked up a semi-final matchup against Jamaica on Saturday.
