The Southern Steel may be undefeated after three rounds in the ANZ Championship but captain Wendy Frew is still demanding a complete performance from her side.
The Steel produced a rampant second half to put away the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic 63-53 at the Energy Events Centre in Rotorua yesterday after the game was locked at 29-29 at halftime.
The southern franchise opened up a seven-point gap at the end of the third quarter and led by as many as 13 in the final stanza.
It was the side's second win on the road in as many matches this season and ensured it remained at the top of the New Zealand conference with two wins and a draw heading into two home games over the next two weeks.
Despite being happy with the outcome, Frew said the side needed to find a way to be at its best for 60 minutes.
"We really need to have a look at the first half and how we can improve on that. I think we were just a bit complacent in the first half.
"They had some good pressure on us and we didn't absorb that very well.
"We got Te Huinga [Selby-Rickit] in the goal defence and put Storm [Purvis] back [to goal keep] and the side really sparked from that.''
Selby-Rickit came on for Jane Watson at the start of the second half and teamed up well with Purvis as the pair frequently disrupted the Magic's attack in the second half.
Another standout was Te Paea Selby-Rickit, who shouldered some of the responsibility at the scoring end, slotting 19 goals from 24 attempts.
Her performance meant Brooke Leaver, who has come off the bench at halftime in the first two rounds, did not get a run until Jhaniele Fowler-Reid left the court with an injured ankle with just over two minutes to go.
"Te Paea was playing really well and ended up getting the MVP for today.
"When you have a goal attack who can draw one of the defenders off ‘J' [Fowler-Reid], it really helps her out.
"We need to make sure that happens week in, week out.''
Fowler-Reid's injury had not been assessed last night but she would be available to face the Central Pulse in Invercargill on Sunday, Frew said.
The Pulse will play the Northern Mystics in Wellington tonight and the side would be watching that match closely, she said.
But from the Steel's perspective, its preparation would be focused on getting off to a good start next weekend.
"We need to put in a real 60-minute performance. When we do that, we'll be happy with where we're at.''
Yesterday's victory means the Steel needs only one more win to equal the number of wins it had all last season.
But judging by its start to the year, it will be hoping to comfortably eclipse that record as the season progresses.
For the Magic, it was its third straight loss and left the 2012 champios sitting bottom of the New Zealand conference as of last night.
Its next match is away to the Melbourne Vixens in two weeks.
ANZ Championship
The scores
Southern Steel 63
Jhaniele Fowler-Reid 44/47, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 19/24
Waikato BoP Magic 53
Malia Paseka 33/47, Joanne Harten 18/25, Ellen Halpenny 2/2
Quarter scores: 1st, 12-12; 2nd, 29-29; 3rd, 46-39.
