After leading the Mainland Tactix 29-28 at halftime, the Steel eventually lost 60-53 at the Southern Showdown in Dunedin last night.
While the Tactix managed to pull away in the end, the Steel looked good once they settled into their work as the game went on and shook off the cobwebs in their first preseason hit out against an ANZ Premiership side.
Considering they were without their star midcourters Kate Heffernan, who is nursing an injury, and Shannon Saunders, who did not take the court, and they trialled their training partners, Emilie Nicholson and Ella Southby, and their "apprentice" partners Isabella Galvan and Grace Southby, things did not look too bad.
"Look, I’m really proud of them to be fair," Bloxham said.
"There was lots of nerves before that first game, and we did look a little bit shaky at times, but then I thought once we settled into it, we actually did some really nice stuff.
"I think it’s a good starting point for us and I’m looking forward to seeing what else happens."
Preseason never accounts to much when the competition actually begins and poses as an opportunity for teams to test their combinations.
Both sides figured out their flow in the opening quarter and it was the Tactix that found their formula first.
Always a strong target at the back, Aliyah Dunn pulled in the feeds from goal attack Jess Allan — who played for the Steel last year — in the back space and re-offered when it was not on.
Erikana Pederson, who has come out of retirement to re-join the Tactix, was rock solid in the middle against Renee Savai’inaea.
After a few fumbles from the Steel early on, wing defence Abby Lawson settled things with a great long feed into Grace Namana.
The Tactix had the better of the middle of the quarter, but Lawson picked off an intercept and it spurred a run from the home side.
Georgia Heffernan, who looked sharp and took ownership to direct the attack line, fed Namana, then slotted a couple of lovely shots herself for the Steel to lead 15-13 at the break.
Te Paea Selby-Rickit was introduced at goal attack in the second quarter and her connection with Dunn was undeniable.
The visitors ball speed through the court was lethal and Greer Sinclair and Paris Lokotui backed them up the whole way. Once the Steel settled, Namana came into the game more.
She held strong under the hoop, withstood the pressure from Jane Watson, and created good space for herself.
She looked confident on the shot as well, which will please Steel fans in the wake of the news George Fisher has now been ruled out for the season.
But at times the feeders could have let the ball go in earlier to her.
Those balls started to flow better in the third quarter, an indicator of the Steel attack line starting to click.
But the Tactix pulled away and found easier entry into their shooters.
Sinclair moved to centre and hit the circle edge hard and paired nicely with wing attack Vika Koloto.
The Steel found themselves in trouble late in the quarter when South African goal defence Jeante Strydom was sent from the court under the new rules for making contact with Koloto’s head when going for the ball.
She sat on the sideline for two minutes and left a gap for the Tactix to exploit to lead 48-40.
The Steel fought back at the start of final quarter when Strydom and goal keep Taneisha Fifita started to pick up some ball.
Wing attack Ivari Christie put some heat behind her footwork, and when she gets going, her pass-and-cut paired with her speed to burn are second to none.
In the earlier game, the Mystics beat the Pulse 57-48.
The Steel now play the Mystics this morning, the Magic this afternoon and the Pulse tomorrow.
Southern Showdown
The scores
Mainland Tactix 60
Southern Steel 53
Quarter scores: Steel 15-13, 29-28, 40-48, 53-60
