A stifling midcourt defence from the Australian Diamonds on Wednesday was not enough as the Silver Ferns racked up a comfortable second test win at Spark Arena Wednesday.

The Diamonds held the Silver Ferns up effectively in the opening exchanges but were quickly undone by the dynamic midcourt pairing of Kimiora Poi and Maddy Gordon.

A final score of 63-52 second test mirrored the 14-goal win in the series opener, another compelling win against the rivals from across the Tasman.

With the Silver Ferns holding the edge at both ends and through the middle, they negated the strike power of towering shooter Grace Nweke with the help of defensive efforts by Karin Burger and Kelly Jackson.

The pressure eventually reaped the reward, a withering late burst giving the Silver Ferns a handy 17-11 lead at the first break.

“I’m just so proud of the team, so happy after what we’ve been through and what we’ve been able to put out on the court,” Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio said.

Poi and Gordon were instrumental in pinpoint passing to shooting kingpin Grace Nweke, while Ameliaranne Ekenasio improved from her stellar showing in the opening test.

“This means so much, and we’ve shown that we’ve got fighters in our team, people who will go out and do the dirty work and don’t care what they come up against. And it’s just been finding a way to bring that out in the girls and that’s been a real change in what we’ve able to put out on court,” Ekenasio said.

Due to the first test success, the team remained unchanged and sent the same starting seven onto the court, while the Diamonds opted for a couple of tweaks.

Jamie-Lee Price was moved from wing defence to start the match from centre, while Sarah Klau made the start at goalkeeper ahead of Courtney Bruce.

Both sides introduced new personnel into the fray, Bruce coming on as goalkeeper for the Diamonds and Sophie Dwyer in goal attack, while Claire O’Brien was injected into wing attack for the Silver Ferns.

The series now heads to Australia for the next two matches in Perth and Melbourne on Sunday and Wednesday, respectively. The Silver Ferns are seeking a rare win across the Tasman to snap their Constellation Cup drought.