The Melbourne Vixens are set for some tough conversations after allowing the NSW Swifts to draw their Super Netball clash.
The Vixens led at every break and had looked easily the better side in the second game of a double-header at Melbourne's Hisense Arena on Saturday night.
With 90 seconds left on the clock the hosts led by three goals and looked set to leap to second on the ladder.
But late goals to Amy Somerville and Sam Wallace quickly bridged the deficit, with Wallace sealing the 59-59 draw with the final shot of the game.
The late fadeout left Vixens coach Simone McKinnis questioning whether her side had taken their foot off the gas in the final term.
She said the fifth-placed Vixens would reflect on the result and hold some honest conversations.
"It's disappointing. The game was there to be won," she said.
"I think in some ways we probably stopped playing a little bit too early. As a group, we've got to be better in those moments."
"We'll have to have a chat about it in the debrief. What it felt like, what they were thinking. It is disappointing."
The Vixens have not beaten their interstate rivals since their premiership-winning year in 2014 and the round three clash had loomed as a golden opportunity to break the drought.
The Swifts have fielded a new and largely inexperienced team this year, while the Vixens boast the most stable roster in the competition.
McKinnis said the inexperience of some of her own charges was no excuse for the result, noting that the likes of Jo Weston, Liz Watson and Kate Moloney had all been exposed to high-pressure moments.
"I don't buy into this 'young team'," she said.
"They've been around for a while. We've got three of them - Jo, Lizzy and Kate - who have played in grand finals. They know better than that.
"As a team, we've got to learn that lesson."
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