Forget the shooters.
This game was about defenders.
Steel goal keep Leana de Bruin had a fantastic game but her efforts were over shadowed by some brilliance from Geva Mentor.
The classy England international lived up to her billing as one of the best defenders in the game with an outstanding effort at the back for the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
She helped guide the home side to a 53-36 win.
While the 17-goal margin sounds comprehensive, the match was in the balance going into the final 15 minutes.
Trailing by just three goals, the Steel dropped away alarmingly, losing the final period 19-5.
For the third consecutive week the Invercargill-based team faded in the final period.
The Steel had a golden opportunity to poach a rare victory against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in round two but fell off the pace in the last quarter, and a lethargic second half against the Central Pulse in Dunedin last week should have triggered alarm bells.
But the night belonged to Mentor.
The statistics will tell you she took four intercepts and made nine deflections.
But what they do not reveal is how much impact she had on the game.
She tormented the Steel attack, hovering around the fringes and swatting the ball away time after time.
The experienced campaigner also had the handy knack of grabbing intercepts just when the her side needed them the most.
Her companion, Mo'onia Gerrard, was no slug either, snatching four intercepts herself.
At the opposite end, de Bruin was just as active, cutting off the Thunderbirds' attack with some stifling defence.
She pinched four intercepts and made eight deflections and was a standout in a beaten side.
The Thunderbirds made a nervous start, missing their first three shots at goal.
Former Jamaican international and basketballer Carla Borrego struggled to find her range.
The Steel also started with a miss, with both sides clearly feeling the pressure in what was a repeat of last year's minor semifinal.
Daneka Wipiiti opened the scoring after some fumbling exchanges, and the visitors stole a three-goal march.
Goal attack Kate Beveridge dropped in two long shots from deep in the circle to help the home side claw back the advantage.
But the fact she had to shoot from so far out was a credit to de Bruin and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit.
The pair did a good job keeping the Thunderbirds duo away from the post.
At the break the Thunderbirds nursed a 12-11 lead but a four-goal run from the Steel midway through the second period helped the visitors build a small lead.
Two crucial calls against Wipiiti stymied the progress and a well-timed lunge from Mentor knocked the ball out of Megan Dehn's hands when she was about to shoot.
The Thunderbirds maintained a small buffer for most of the crucial third quarter but stretched the gap to three goals when Mentor came up with two superb intercepts deep in the period.
The final 15 minutes was one-way traffic.
What was a tight match turned into a rout with the Thunderbirds going on a scoring spree.
Borrego slotted 17 from 18 attempts and Beveridge netted two of her four attempts.
While the Thunderbirds put up 22 shots the Steel managed just nine attempts.
The Steel has two wins from four matches and is still reasonably placed.
But it has a tough game against the Queensland Firebirds in Invercargill on Monday.
The Thunderbird also have two wins and will play the winless Central Pulse in Wellington on Saturday.
Thunderbirds 53 (Carla Borrego 37 from 45, Kate Beveridge 16/24) Steel 36 (Daneka Wipiiti 28/34, Megan Dehn 7/13, Julianna Naoupu 1/1).
Quarter 12-11, halftime 24-23, third quarter 34-31.
