The victory gives it a tally of three wins and two losses with a third of the regular season gone.
It also had to survive the sending off of defender Taneisha Fifita, who was shown off the court in the final two minutes for too many infringements. Luckily for her and the Steel, the side was five goals ahead and could not be caught.
It was a tough call on Fifita as she was simply going for the ball but ended up colliding with a Pulse attacker who plunged to the ground.
That left the Steel with just one defender in the circle but right at the end, Steel defender Sarahpheinna Woulf managed to grab a rebound — from the only shot Pulse goalshooter Aliyah Dunn missed — and moved the ball down the court.
That was the theme of the game really. The Steel just did not let the home team get on a run.
Both teams started the game well and went goal-for-goal before the Steel gained a couple of turnovers with about five minutes left in the quarter. It converted those to take an 18-14 lead into the first break.
The home side won the next two quarters 13-12 and got it back to 45 goals each early in the final quarter.
But a couple of poor passes and a loss of concentration pushed the Steel ahead again and it made the most of the opportunities to seal the win. It had nine more attempts than the Pulse as it forced turnovers and gave no easy looks for the Pulse shooters.
Steel coach Reinga Bloxham was very pleased with the win and said the first quarter showing had paved the way to the win.
"That set the game up for us and from there we just battled it out. I thought at times there we had really good composure," she said.
"It was a tough ending to the game but it is really good to win away from home. Our attack was pretty controlled throughout and the defence worked hard right to the end."
She said Fifita had been given a warning at the start of the final quarter so had to be squeaky clean from then on.
Bloxham said the incident was just around decision-making by Fifita and she could understand the umpires sending Fifita from the court.
Bloxham believed it was the first time a Steel player had been sent from the court.
She said "the players are fit, strong and fast and they get out there and play in a whole- hearted way."
It was a vigorous game and a win to value, she said.
Bloxham praised the play of centre Kate Heffernan who she said controlled play well, worked hard all game and was good on attack.
The side will head home today, with no injuries, and take on the Tactix in Invercargill next Monday.
