If resilience was worth points, the Steel would be towards the top of the ANZ Championship competition table.
Instead, the combined Otago-Southland team has all but slipped out of the title race with a dramatic one-goal loss to the Queensland Firebirds in Invercargill last night.
Steel shooter Donna Wilkins (28 from 30) had an opportunity to send the game into extra time.
With time up, Wilkins missed a penalty shot from deep in the circle.
It clunked into the front of the rim, much to the disappointment of the crowd, who had been whipped into a frenzy by a stunning fightback from the home side.
The Steel trailed by eight goals at halftime but whittled away at the Firebirds' lead with some determined netball.
Demelza McCloud grabbed an intercept with 2min remaining which allowed the Steel to draw level.
But in the frantic final moments Wilkins stretched an inch too far to haul in a pass and stepped out.
Natalie Medhurst scored down the other end to give the Firebirds the lead 61-60 - the final score.
A stepping call went against the visitors leaving the Steel about 15sec to find an equaliser.
The team moved the ball up court and into Wilkins' hands.
She missed.
Steel captain Jodi Brown summed up how the side was probably feeling.
"It doesn't come down to the last shot, though, does it?" she told Sky Sport.
"Once again our first quarter let us down.
"To be down by five in this league is just too much.
"We know we are good at it [fighting back] but five goals is too many in the first quarter."
The loss was the Steel's fourth consecutive defeat.
The franchise lost four games in a row in 2008 and strung another four losses together when it lost its last two games in 2010 and first two in 2011.
Injury ruled out regular Steel wing attack Courtney Tairi and experienced defender Sheryl Scanlan.
Rookie goal keep Storm Purvis made a good touch early, winning possession for the Steel with some athletic work.
But the Firebirds made the more polished beginning, pulling away to lead 17-12 at the break.
Getting the ball into the shooting circle is just that much easier when you are passing the ball to the 1.96m tall Romelda Aiken (37 from 42).
The Jamaican is not the most accurate shooter in the competition - that title belongs to Cathrine Latu - but she gobbles up rebounds.
Under-rated midcourter Lauren Nourse and goal attack Medhurst made good use of Aiken's height advantage, lobbing the ball to her with mechanical ease.
With defender Laura Geitz also an accomplished rebounder, the Firebirds get a lot of extra ball to work with.
Firebirds wing attack Elissa Macleod had some bad fortune shortly before the halftime break when she stepped on her opponent's foot and was forced to the sideline.
The Steel has made a habit of fighting back this season and some superb shooting from deep in the circle from Brown helped inspire the side.
The Steel pruned the lead by three goals and trailed by five with 15min remaining.
The noisy crowd swung in behind the home team and suddenly all the pressure was on the defending champion.
With 3min remaining the gap was a single goal and the Steel was on the march.
In the other games, the Northern Mystics employed some innovative tactics to upset the Melbourne Vixens 49-45 in Australia.
The Mystics used rugby-style lifting to help elevate their defenders and disrupt the Vixens' shooters.
New South Wales Swifts had a 52-47 win against the West Coast Fever in Sydney.
The Scores
Steel v Firebirds
Queensland Firebirds 61
(Romelda Aiken 37 from 42, Natalie Medhurst 24/27)
Southern Steel 60
(Donna Wilkins 28/30, Jodi Brown 32/40)
Quarter 17-12, halftime 33-25, third quarter 48-43.
