The Southern Steel trailed the Northern Mystics by 15 goals early in the fourth quarter in Auckland on Saturday.
A late rally, albeit with Grace Nweke on the bench, helped the Steel reduce the deficit to 67-59 at the conclusion.
That scoreline was probably a little flattering. But it was also a much-improved Steel performance from the 70-50 loss in Invercargill.
Rather than titanic collapses to start and finish, the Steel remained competitive for large parts.
It was just the consistency within that — a run of five here, a run of three there, and the game eventually got away.
The Mystics did the damage through the middle, disrupting the Steel attacking end, and they were typically clinical with the ball.
A five-goal run to begin the second quarter opened a gap, after the Steel trailed just 16-15 at the first break.
That became 35-27 at halftime, a margin which gradually grew to double digits later in the third quarter.
Mystics centre Tayla Earle was superb, finding her shooters — notably Nweke — with ease and using the long ball to great effect.
Nweke was her usual consistent self, and while not quite as dominant as two weeks earlier, she put in 45 of her 46 shots.
The Steel, without Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit and Saviour Tui, battled well for parts.
Kate Heffernan was disruptive in the midcourt, while George Fisher was again consistent with a 47/50 shooting display.
Steel coach Reinga Bloxham agreed it was a much-improved Steel performance, but felt there was still plenty of work to be done.
She said the way the team responded to limit the size of the runs was pleasing.
"I think a team like the Mystics, if you make a little error, they have the ability to score so quickly," she said.
"It can feel like a bit of a tsunami hitting you when that does happen. The biggest run was a run of five, but apart from that it was a run of three.
"We were able to absorb that pressure a bit better and then try to come back at them. That was much improved."
For the Steel, it has been a good opportunity to face the competition’s form team early and get a taste of where it needs to be.
The Steel will play its third and final game against the Mystics in two weeks, and Bloxham said it would be good to continue to measure the Mystics’ improvements.
"I think they’re playing some really good netball and they’re fairly consistent with the different line-ups they’re putting on. They’re not losing much in their performance.
"They are the reigning champions — they’ve got a point to prove out there. I thought we weren’t overwhelmed by their performance. We absorbed it a little bit better.
"I think it was nice to have another go at them so quickly. If you have to wait a few months down the track, a lot can change between now and then, and a lot will change in the next two weeks.
"For us to win that last quarter, that’s a huge positive for us. If we can be more consistent in what we’re doing and knowing we’re going to have to do a full 60-minute performance when everyone’s on top of their game, anything can happen."
Bloxham was unsure around Tui and Selby-Rickit’s availability for this weekend, although felt Tui was more likely to play.
Yesterday, Aliyah Dunn hit a shot on the buzzer to give the Central Pulse a 51-50 win over the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.
