A dominant first quarter paved way for a 59-46 win for the Southern Steel against the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in Auckland.
The Steel led 19-10 at the first break, shutting down the Magic attack and scoring with relative ease.
While that lead was never in danger, twice the Magic went on runs and took control for periods.
Against a better team that may have been a concern.
However, the Magic made too many mistakes - both turning the ball over and shooting at a far too low a percentage.
It took 22 less shots than the Steel, and while goal shoot Kelsey McPhee made a big difference when injected, Monica Falkner was well-covered and managed just 11/17.
Abby Erwood deserves some credit for that too, the Steel goal defence having a strong outing and coming up with plenty of ball.
At the other end Steel goal attack Te Paea Selby-Rickit was instrumental in her general play.
She shot 21/27 and combined well with Lenize Potgieter, who made a handy 32/40.
Steel coach Reinga Bloxham said there had been an element of wanting to bounce back from last week's loss early on.
While the opening minutes were disjointed, she had been happy with the final 10 minutes of the first quarter.
"I think the start of the game was a little bit flat for us I suppose. We didn't quite nail things the way we wanted to.
"But I was really happy with the way we came back and were patient with the ball on attack and worked really hard to make sure the shooters had quality feeds.
"Then on defence I think they just took a while to settle in and then worked collectively as a unit."
However, after opening the margin, the Steel struggled to build on it.
Bloxham admitted it could be tough mentally to keep the intensity high after such a
dominant start.
However, she also said it was important the team played through that and kept building.
She also said the Steel needed to adjust to changes the Magic made faster when it came back through the middle.
It had changed to a man-on style and the side took "a bit too long to recognise and adjust its structures".
After a shaky first couple of minutes the Steel found its groove.
An Erwood intercept ignited the side and allowed it to open its first gap at 5-3.
The Magic attack struggled to connect, while the Steel picked off ball throughout the rest of the quarter.
It showed its threat in transition from there and opened up a 19-10 lead.
That continued early in the second quarter, and the Steel made it 25-12 before the Magic finally fought back.
McPhee was a difference-maker at goal shoot, and her presence combined with increased defensive pressure reduced the deficit to 26-17.
However, the Steel finished strongly to make it 33-20 at halftime.
The Magic fought back early in the third quarter as its attack had its best period.
The deficit margin was reduced to eight, but the Steel hit back with a run of its own and led 48-33 at the final break.
Both sides made changes for the last quarter and while the Magic won that period, it was far too much to come back from.
