The Southern Steel defender leapt high and plucked the ball out of the air, right in front of the outstretched hands of Grace Nweke.
It was a bright spot in an otherwise forgettable first quarter for the Steel.
It was also proof she can do arguably the hardest thing in the ANZ Premiership right now — take a pass off the Northern Mystics’ monstrous goal shoot.
Those moments do not come along too often for anyone.
Although making the most of the ones that do will be key for the Steel, as it faces the Mystics again today, this time in Auckland.
‘‘I don’t actually know if you can stop her, to be fair,’’ Burley (24) said.
‘‘But I can keep trying and trying little things to disrupt her in little moments of the game.
‘‘It’s an awesome challenge. She’s so athletic, she’s so tall and she’s really accurate on the shot. There’s no better way to challenge yourself in a game than to mark her.
‘‘I think I’ve got to keep changing things up. Try to attack different ball, potentially get ball before it gets to her, but also having a crack in the air against her.
‘‘You’ve got to keep trying, got to jump maybe 50 times to get one ball. But that one ball counts and, whatever ball we get against her, we’ve got to really cherish.’’
It was a challenge Burley was embracing — and one not too unfamiliar to her.
She spent last year with the Mystics, so she has had plenty of time going up against Nweke in training.
This year she has moved south in search of more game time, with the established duo of Phoenix Karaka and Sulu Fitzpatrick crowding the defensive spots at the Mystics.
It was also a chance to get out of her comfort zone, being the first time she has lived away from Auckland.
The move was going well so far and Burley has made an immediate impact on court.
While admitting the loss to the Mystics had been tough to take, the Steel had delivered two good wins on either side of it.
Burley had been influential in those wins too, especially last week’s one against the Stars — who she played for prior to the Mystics.
She had been enjoying playing alongside the Steel players, in particular learning off Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit and finding the ability to steal clean ball.
The way the defensive unit worked together was a big focal point and that would be how it looked to negate Nweke this time around.
‘‘It’s a whole mix of things,’’ Burley said.
‘‘It’s the pressure on the outside, it’s the pressure over the pass, it’s the pass potentially not being as high as it usually would. It’s really such a unit effort.
‘‘If it’s just one on one with me and G (Nweke) I’m never going to get it. But it’s that unit pressure we’re looking to apply this week.
‘‘It’s exciting to see how we can change it and how we can potentially come up with more ball.’’
Today is a quick turnaround from the last match against the Mystics — a 70-50 drubbing in Invercargill.
It was the second largest defeat in Steel history, while its first and fourth quarters were among the worst it has played.
However, there were positive signs through the middle of the game.
While not quite seeing it as revenge, Burley did feel it was a chance for swift redemption.
‘‘I think it’s a good opportunity for us, really,’’ she said.
‘‘We lost by 20 goals the last time we played them. I think it’s a really good opportunity for us to see what we can give and see how we can bounce back from that loss against them.
‘‘We don’t have any pressure on us at the moment. We’re coming from that game, we’ve got a lot to prove and we know we can be better than that.
‘‘I think it’s an exciting opportunity, being able to come against them so quickly. Hopefully we can redeem our performance a bit.’’
ANZ Premiership
Auckland, today, 4.10pm
Steel: Shannon Saunders, Kate Heffernan, Renee Savai'inaea, Ali Wilshier, George Fisher, Saviour Tui, Georgia Heffernan, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, Kate Burley, Sarahpheinna Woulf.
Mystics: Sulu Fitzpatrick, Phoenix Karaka, Mikaela Sokolich-Beatson, Tayla Earle, Fa'amu Ioane, Elisapeta Toeava, Claire O'Brien, Grace Nweke, Monica Falkner, Filda Vui.
