The Northern Mystics out-enthused the home side in the first half and survived a spirited comeback to win 52-49 at Stadium Southland last night.
Shooters Maria Tutaia and Cathrine Latu provided the coup de grace with some near flawless shooting which was, in the end, the difference between the two sides.
Experienced centre Temepara George and wing attack Grace Rasmussen gave a wonderful display of passing, with some delightful feeds into the shooting circle.
Athletic Jamaican defender Althea Byfield tormented the Steel's attack and produced an impressive performance which helped her side build a 30-23 lead by halftime.
Steel captain Megan Dehn felt her side was a little flat in the opening 30 minutes.
"I said, at halftime, `I think they were out-energising us, out-muscling us and they were a bit more intense and wanting it more.'"We needed to step up and I think we did really well in that second half.
But we needed to do that right from the start."
Watching from the other end of the court, Dehn could not help but be impressed with the performances of Latu and Tutaia.
The pair barely missed, with Latu nailing 28 of her 29 attempts and Tutaia 24 from 27.
"They were quite impressive in the attack end," Dehn said.
"They had great ball delivery into the shooters and they swung the ball quite a bit and made it easy for their shooters."
The Steel has a bye this weekend and will play the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Invercargill on May 24.
The match looms as a must-win.
A loss would almost certainly spell the end of the Steel's semifinal prospects.
Right from the first centre pass it was apparent the Mystics were more polished and hungrier.
George and Rasmussen gave a lesson in how to pass the ball, flinging caution to the wind and whistling in some magical passes.
Down the other end, Byfield overcame her height disadvantage to grab some crucial rebounds and used her speed and fierce determination to get around her opponents to intercept, deflect and disrupt the Steel's supply of ball.
Silver Ferns defenders Joline Henry and Larrissa Wilcox chipped in with some nice touches.
The stars, though, were Latu and Tutaia.
The pair landed 30 of their 32 attempts to help the visiting side build a seven-goal lead.
Latu was flawless with 17 from 17 but it was Tutaia who was doing the real damage.
The classy goal attack has a reputation for being able to shoot from anywhere in the circle and took the pressure off Latu with some superb shooting from the fringes.
Steel coach Robyn Broughton brought on Julianna Naoupu and it proved to be a catalyst for a change in fortune.
Suddenly, the deflections were falling for the home side and an unanswered five-goal run midway through the third quarter saw the Steel close to within two goals.
The Mystics absorbed the pressure and gradually rebuilt the seven-goal buffer.
Some late turnovers caused the Mystics some nervous moments but they held their nerve to clinch what could prove to be a season-defining match for both teams.
