The Steel thumped the Tactix 77-61 and has climbed two spots from ninth to seventh.
Fourth spot and a place in the play-offs will take a mighty effort and the Steel will need some results to go its way if it is to make it.
But given how unpredictable the tournament has been this year, that last playoff berth could come down to goal percentage.
The Steel lifted its goal percentage to 94.8%, but probably could have put on a few more goals, had coach Janine Southby not opted to sub Jodi Brown for back-up shooter Te Paea Selby-Rickit midway through the fourth quarter.
It was a good night for the Steel and, in particular, Jamaican international Jhaniele Fowler-Reid.
She had scored 130 goals in two games against the Tactix last year and almost kept up with that hot pace, scoring 60 from 61 attempts.
Her only miss came late in the third quarter.
She grabbed the rebound and slotted the goal, anyway.
Fowler-Reid helped set up the victory with a storming first quarter in which the Steel scored 26 goals - the same number as the Adelaide Thunderbirds managed in the entire game against the Melbourne Vixens on Saturday.
The hapless Tactix had no answer to the Steel's simple game plan of getting the ball up high and in the general direction of its 1.98m shooter.
From centre pass to goal it was taking the Steel two or three passes and the score mounted rapidly.
By the break, the Steel led by 10 goals. Remarkably, the visitor was on track to post a score of 100-plus and Fowler-Reid had her ANZ Championship record of 65 goals in sight.
The Steel got too ambitious early in the second spell, firing crazy passes towards its star shooter.
She is an incredible athlete, but there is a limit to how high Fowler-Reid can get off the floor boards.
Tactix coach Leigh Gibbs needed to make a change in defence and did so by introducing Louise Thayer at the expense of Jane Watson.
The former high jumper helped stem the flow of goals and, at the same time, the Tactix stopped making so many clumsy errors.
They won the quarter 16-14 and trailed 40-32 at halftime, having clawed back some momentum.
Southby asked her side to play with more patience in the second half and got a good response.
The team cut out the highly speculative passes and just focused on asserting some defensive pressure in the midcourt.
The Steel also made sure it converted any turnovers and the margin stopped contracting and starting expanding again.
With the result beyond doubt, interest shifted to whether Fowler-Reid would be able to break her record of 65 goals and whether the Steel could break the tournament record of 80 goals.
The records proved out of reach, but Fowler-Reid did bring up her 1000th goal during the match.
It was also the Steel's second highest score.
Its top three scores are all against the Tactix - the highest being the 79 it scored in June last year.
ANZ Championships
The Scores
Southern Steel 77
Jhaniele Fowler-Reid 60 from 61, Jodi Brown 16/19, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 1/1
Mainland Tactix 61
Mwai Kumwenda 49/52, Anna Thompson 12/20Quarter scores: 26-16, 40-32, 61-43
