The pugnacious visitor hung tough with a Silver Fern-laden line-up, which threatened to overrun the battling franchise.
And when the game was spiralling out of reach, the Steel pegged back the difference with a spurt of its own.
Ultimately, though, there was no containing Silver Ferns shooter Irene van Dyk and her uncanny ability to thread the ball through the hoop.
Van Dyk put in a flawless display, landing all 33 of her attempts to shoot a perfect game.
Her partner, Maria Tutaia, had her heat seeker turned on as well, slotting 23 from 26 attempts.
The Steel put up five more shots, but its combination of Daneka Wipiiti and Megan Dehn were not able to match the accuracy of their opponents.
While it was an improved effort, the Steel has lost five of its seven games and co-captain Jenny-May Coffin told Sky Sport shortly after the match ended her team would go into the bye with a lot to work on.
"We showed a lot better patience than we did last week but it is still disappointing to come away being beaten by nine points," she said.
"It is probably good to have a break at this time during the competition, and come back a little refreshed and hit our straps."
The Steel had the better of the opening exchanges, building a 6-4 lead.
The Magic looked like it was trying to force the pace and pushed several rash passes out of court.
But with so many class players in its ranks, the Magic settled and piled on five unanswered goals to seize the momentum and take a 14-11 lead into the break.
Some tireless link play by evergreen midcourter Amigene Metcalfe, who demonstrated her worth with some elegant passing into the shooting circle, and the mastery of van Dyk, saw the Magic create a buffer which ballooned to 10 goals at one stage during the second spell.
But, rather than being submerged in the wake, the Steel grasped for a lifebuoy and scored the last three goals in the half to prune the lead to six.
In a surprise move, Steel coach Robyn Broughton replaced goal keep Megan Hutton with Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit.
The 19-year-old is better known for her shooting expertise and asking her to mark the world's leading shooter, van Dyk, was like giving a Lamborghini a head start.
But the youngster had her moments, getting in front of the ace shooter to snatch a couple of nice intercepts.
Going into the final 15min, the Steel trailed by seven goals and clawed the lead back to within just four.
While it was less than clinical, the Magic was able to ease away and pick up its sixth win from seven matches.
Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic (Irene van Dyk 33 from 33, Maria Tutaia 23/26) Southern Steel (Daneka Wipiiti 34/45, Megan Dehn 13/16).
Quarter 14-11, half-time 31-25, three-quarters 43-36.
Netball New Zealand yesterday confirmed the Silver Ferns' test against England in Dunedin will be held on October 15.
The Silver Ferns will play tests against Australia and England in September and October.
Christchurch will host the first test against Australia on September 17 and Auckland the second test on September 20.
The three-test series against England will be played in Auckland on October 13, Dunedin on October 15 and Palmerston North on October 18.
