The championship minor premiers were stripped of home court advantage for Sunday's semifinal after going down 59-57 to the the Magic in the New Zealand conference final in Invercargill last weekend.
The good news was the Steel's season was not over following the upset loss at Stadium Southland, but the bad news was it faced a trip to Brisbane or Sydney to play the Australian conference winner for a place in the final.
The Brisbane trip was confirmed after the defending champion Firebirds put away the Swifts 63-52 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Monday night to put themselves in the box seat to secure back-to-back titles.
The Firebirds have never lost a playoff game at home, while the Steel has never won in Brisbane.
The southern side came close in 2009, when it went down 52-50, but has been on the end of some convincing defeats during its three Queensland trips since.
It lost 51-36 in 2011, 68-59 in 2013 and 66-50 last year.
History has so far not proved a roadblock for the Steel in 2016, given it recorded its first unbeaten regular season, smashed its previous record winning streak of four by winning 10 games on the trot and secured just its second win on Australian soil, when it beat the Thunderbirds 69-54 in Adelaide.
But the magnitude of this weekend's task cannot be understated and the Steel will head to Brisbane as firm underdog as the Firebirds look to march on.
Dejected captain Wendy Frew knew as much when she spoke to media after Sunday's loss.
She said her team needed to believe it could win but knew the team had blown a golden opportunity by relinquishing home court advantage and would have to lift significantly if it was to match the Firebirds.
The Magic came out firing on Sunday, stunning the Steel with its speed and accuracy to open up a 19-13 lead in the first quarter.
But things got worse in the second period, as the score blew out to 30-19 and it became apparent the home side was struggling to find a way to stop the onslaught.
The Steel clawed its way back in the second half but ultimately the damage had been done and the Magic again lifted in the final few minutes.
It was a disappointing performance from the Steel, given it had overcome every hurdle it had faced during the regular season and had twice beaten the Magic by 10 goals.
It will take confidence from the fact it has beaten the Firebirds already this year, but that was under vastly different circumstances.
The Firebirds were missing first-choice defensive duo Laura Geitz and Clare McMeniman for the round 11 clash in Dunedin and it looked doubtful as to whether the players' heads were fully in the match.
There will be no such concerns on Sunday, as the side plays in front of a home crowd with a place in the final on the line and a fully fit squad to choose from.
There remains the slim possibility the Steel could be back in Invercargill next weekend.
It it can topple the rampant Firebirds, and the Swifts beat the Magic in Hamilton in the other semifinal, the victorious sides will head to Stadium Southland for the final.
