The Steel did just that when shooter Jhaniele Fowler Reid scored the match winner with 11 seconds left at the Edgar Centre on Saturday.
The nail biting one point win against a team littered with current and former internationals ended a six match losing streak to the Pulse, and was just the Steel's third win from nine games this season.
More importantly, it propels the southerners past Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic into second place in the New Zealand conference standings, with four regular season games remaining.
After failing to get over the hump from similar positions this season, Steel captain Wendy Frew was all smiles when umpire Jono Bredin blew the final whistle on Saturday.
''It's certainly nice to have a win when it's a tight game, instead of us giving up the lead,'' she said.
''Hopefully, it will put us in good stead moving forward for the last four games in round robin.''
The Steel, which led for the majority of the game, had led by as many as five goals in the second quarter, and took a narrow 41 39 lead into the final quarter.
That lead grew to four goals early in the quarter, after Te Paea Selby Rickit knocked down a pair of mid range shots.
However, just as in previous games this season, the Steel lacked composure and made a handful of mistakes as pressure mounted.
With her team leading 46 45, Fowler Reid missed from deep and the Pulse launched a 4 2 run to hit the front for the first time since the first quarter, with just two minutes left on the clock.
Fowler Reid made amends with her next attempt to knot the game up at 49 49, leaving the visiting team the best part of two minutes to win the match.
The Pulse opted to swing the ball through midcourt and run down the clock before attempting the match winner, but former Steel captain and goal attack Jodi Brown, who landed 31 of her 33 shots on goal, took steps.
A few moments later, wing attack Gina Crampton fed Fowler Reid for the match winner and the near capacity crowd of 2543 erupted. Following a tight first quarter, the Steel threatened to pull away on a couple of occasions in the middle part of the game.
Selby Rickit got hot from deep in the second quarter, landing four consecutive shots to open up a 23 18 lead.
But centre Shannon Francois and Fowler Reid coughed up the ball and the Pulse clawed its way back into the match.
There were also chances in the third quarter for the Steel to build and sustain a four or five goal lead, only for mistakes to sabotage the effort.
''I think we got a bit hesitant on attack,'' Frew said.
''It was probably just a bit of ball placement, and on defence we probably need to hunt more ball.
''There wasn't a lot of intercepts, so we need to go back to the drawing board and see how we can create some more ball.''
Selby Rickit, who missed her first shot on goal but finished with 15 from 18 attempts, perhaps played her best game for the Steel.
She slotted a bunch of much needed goals as Fowler Reid continued to shoot below her ridiculously high standards of the past two years.
Defender Storm Purvis left Saturday's match in the final minute with a left ankle injury and is set for a stint on the sideline.
Purvis landed awkwardly on Pulse shooter Ameliaranne Wells' foot, with the game on the line, and was immediately replaced by Jane Watson.
She was taken to hospital for an X ray after the match and the team's medical specialists will assess the injury today.
Steel coach Janine Southby expects the 1.86m defender to miss at least two games.
''Obviously, we're disappointed for Storm. She's been playing into some really good form and she's absolutely gutted,'' Southby said.
In the weekend's other games, the Queensland Firebirds wrested the Challenge Trophy from the West Coast Fever with a 56-48 win in Perth, while the NSW Swifts crushed the Melbourne Vixens 67-43 and Northern Mystics beat the Mainland Tactix 61-53 last night.
ANZ Championship
The scores
Southern Steel 50
Jhaniele Fowler Reid 35/44, Te Paea Selby Rickit 15/18
Central Pulse 49
Jodi Brown 31/33, Ameliaranne Wells 11/15, Irene van Dyk 7/9.
Quarter scores: 1st, 14-14; 2nd, 31-27; 3rd, 41-39.
