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Australia has secured its 11th Constellation Cup crown on aggregate goals despite losing the final two Tests of the series in New Zealand.
Key points:
- The Diamonds won the first two games in Australia by a combined 19 goals and lost by a combined six in New Zealand
- Australia has only lost the series once since 2012, but has not won outright since 2018
- The Diamonds start a three-game series with South Africa in Cairns on Wednesday
The Diamonds led from the opening whistle in Auckland until midway through the final quarter when the Silver Ferns hit the front and hung on for a rousing win.
The scores were locked at 50-50 in the dying minutes before a goal by Silver Ferns skipper Ameliaranne Ekenasio put her team ahead.
An Australian fumble in the goal circle saw the ball turned over and the home side pounced to secure victory and level the series 2-2.
The Diamonds' lead had been as big as five goals early in the opening quarter, with turnovers costly for the Silver Ferns, before they rallied to trail 15-12 at the break.
Sophie Garbin, who was key to Australia's victory in the World Cup final against England, kept the scoreboard ticking over and finished with 37 goals from 40 attempts.
The 26-year-old only missed one goal in the first half as the visitors maintained their dominance to lead 28-26 at half-time.
The Diamonds increased the margin by one goal after three quarters, with New Zealand continuing to make changes through the midcourt to match the Australian might of Liz Watson and Jamie-Lee Price.
But as in game three, the Kiwis came home hard and they hit the lead 46-45 with just over eight minutes left in the final period and held on for the tight win.
It came after New Zealand's 56-53 victory in the third Test in Invercargill, but it was not enough to overcome the Australians on goal difference after the Diamonds won the first two games in Melbourne and Brisbane by a combined 19 goals.
The 208-195 goal difference over the four games was enough to secure the series win over rivals New Zealand for the ninth time from their past 10 attempts.
The Diamonds have not won the trophy outright since 2018, winning on aggregate in 2019 and 2022. The 2020 series was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic and New Zealand won 3-1 in 2021.
The Diamonds have no rest, flying back across the Tasman with the trophy and straight into a series against South Africa.
The first Test against the Proteas is in Cairns on Wednesday night before two more matches in Hobart on Sunday and next Tuesday.
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ABC/AAP