Romelda Aiken in netball action against South Africa at the National Arena on Wednesday, April 20, 2005. - file

ROTORUA, New Zealand (CMC):

Queensland Firebirds, with Jamaican shooting ace Romelda Aiken, dipped to their second consecutive defeat in netball's ANZ Championship yesterday.

The Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic recovered from a wobbly start and outgunned the Firebirds 56-50 in their top-of-the-table clash.

Both teams had entered the match locked with Melbourne Vixens at the head of the standings on 14 points and the Magic are now sole leaders with eight wins from nine starts.

The Adelaide Thunderbirds had beaten the Firebirds 47-41 in their last game.

The Magic achieved their victory after tightening the defensive game to stifle the 6-foot-5-inch Aiken, whose dominance in the shooting circle had propelled the Firebirds into an early lead.

Good passes

Tamsin Greenway and Lauren Nourse fed good passes early to Aiken, who made few mistakes and sank nine goals from 10 tries as she propelled her team to a 13-11 first quarter advantage.

The Firebirds stretched their lead after the break and opened up a six-goal lead but the Magic rediscovered their best form heading to the half-time break and swiftly turned the game around. They wiped off the six-goal deficit and surged ahead 29-27 at the end of the second quarter.

The Magic maintained control in the third quarter and moved six goals clear. They entered the final quarter 44-38 ahead and smothered all the attempts by the Firebirds to rally.

In the end, the New Zealand international Irene van Dyk proved decisive for the Magic in collecting 40 goals from 48 attempts for 83 per cent accuracy.

Aiken scored 39 of 46 attempts for a game-best accuracy of 85 per cent.

Next weekend, the Magic take on the third-place Vixens in Melbourne, while the Firebirds face another tough road trip against the Swifts at the SOP Sports Centre.