That was how Steel captain Adine Wilson summed up the team's feeling after it bowed out of the ANZ Championship with a 51-45 loss to the Thunderbirds in a sudden-death semifinal in Adelaide late last night.
The Steel gave its all but could not catch the Thunderbirds after conceding the lead midway through the second period.
"We're gutted but, in saying that, I'm really proud of the girls because we never gave up trying and were in the game right until the end," Wilson said shortly after the final whistle.
The team set itself the goal of reaching the top four and, while it was disappointed to get knocked out, once the dust had settled Wilson believed the players would look back with pride at what had been a good season.
"We thought we had a good enough team to take the next step; unfortunately, it just wasn't meant to be tonight.
"The girls fought really hard but the Thunderbirds had done their homework and shut us down well and got the win because of it."
The Thunderbirds will play the Magic in the preliminary final in Hamilton on Sunday, with the winner playing the Melbourne Vixens in the grand final the following week.
The Steel made the worst possible start, turning the ball over almost immediately when the centre pass went astray.
Shooter Megan Dehn helped settled the visitors' nerves, dropping in a shot from deep in the circle, and some errors from the home team allowed the Steel to recover and take an early 4-2 lead.
The Thunderbirds answered back with a four-goal run midway through the quarter and took a 12-11 lead into the first break.
The Steel had the better of the opening exchanges in the second stanza, popping in three quick goals.
But the pattern from the first period continued, with the Thunderbirds responding through defender Geva Mentor and speedy centre Natalie von Bertouch.
Both snaffled turnovers to help their side recapture the lead.
With the momentum switching to the Thunderbirds, the Steel lost some of its earlier composure and the gap quickly ballooned.
Goal keep Megan Hutton missed a rebound and the contact penalties were starting to mount against her side.
Fellow defender Katrina Grant looked hesitant and was not hunting the intercepts which had characterised her game this season.
The sides traded goals for most of the third spell.
Donna Wilkins shot superbly for the Steel, as did Natalie Medhurst for the Thunderbirds.
The Steel could not make any inroads into the Thunderbirds' lead and a short pass with about 3min remaining in the period allowed the the home team to stretch its five-goal advantage.
Steel coach Robyn Broughton resisted the urge to introduce fresh legs, trusting her starting seven to close the six-point gap.
But the Thunderbirds kept the door closed with some tight defence and superb execution on attack.
