The Southern Steel wing attack was back to her best as she let the ball fly, showing tremendous vision and finding her shooters with increasing ease.
It was the final connection in what was an impressive display right throughout the court.
It was certainly a notable contrast from the 20-goal loss just six days earlier, when the whole team seemed disconnected.
The Steel responded to that horrid performance in the best way possible.
A 71-62 win over the Northern Stars in Invercargill got its ANZ Premiership campaign back on track.
Goal shoot George Fisher, back in the starting line-up, was superb throughout.
She dominated the circle and made full use of Saunders’ delivery to shoot 51/52 — securing the rebound and scoring off her one miss — to top her previous best of 50 in Steel colours.
While she carried the bulk of the load, she was well-supported by both Saviour Tui and Georgia Heffernan, who as a unit finished with an exceptional 93% shooting accuracy.
The defensive end was similarly devastating.
Renee Savai’inaea returned at wing defence and created two turnovers in the first three minutes.
It set the tone as she was joined by the crafty Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit and the dynamic Kate Burley in pinching ball from all over.
The Stars were a depleted outfit, having lost Mila Reulu-Buchanan and Anna Harrison late in the piece.
However, there was still plenty of quality on court and they remained a strong opponent.
Steel coach Reinga Bloxham was pleased with the display and said playing with pride had been a key focus.
While she felt it was a nervy start, that improved once the team found its rhythm and connections formed.
"They did look a lot more connected," she said.
"I felt we had a good lead-up into the game and we really understood what our jobs were.
"That just showed with our ability to hunt and look for ball.
"We just knew if I’m doing this, someone else is doing that. We were a lot clearer going into this game about what we wanted to achieve."
She mentioned Saunders in particular in that regard, noting she tended to be hard on herself — the captain having been openly critical of her own performance a week ago.
"Her standards and expectations of herself are so high," Bloxham said.
"She’s very critical of everything she does, and I think that’s what makes her such a good player.
"She’s her toughest critic and, at times, I think too tough on herself. We have to remind her about all the things she does well.
"Tonight I think she did her basics really well. She used the fake really well to shift the defence, she led the attacking end and was a nice calming influence. So it was awesome to see that."
Savai’inaea was another who had been outstanding and her early work helped the Steel get the upperhand in the first quarter.
However, the Stars stayed in touch and the lead was at just 16-14 at the first break.
That closed back up to 20-20 early in the second quarter, but the Steel responded late.
Burley began to exert herself on the game, creating turnovers which Fisher made no mistake of converting.
It finished strongly to extend its lead to 34-28 at halftime.
That continued on throughout the third quarter and a run of five late took the lead to 10.
From there, the Steel was rarely troubled, cruising through the fourth quarter with the game in check.
In the early game, the Northern Mystics claimed their third consecutive win as they edged the Central Pulse 62-61.
