Urged on by a crowd of 2600, backup shooter Te Paea Selby-Rickit popped up an unsuccessful shot from deep in the circle during the final seconds.
Three teams have scored 80 and the Steel might have passed the mark had it not made so many changes in the final quarter.
However, it was a franchise record, surpassing the 75 goals the Steel scored against the Tactix in round two.
Steel coach Janine Southby said she was unaware of the record but would have made the changes anyway.
''I was conscious of our goal percentage, though. But it is important to give players a run who have worked hard at training. They need that opportunity to get out there and find out what it is about.
''We are only one injury away and they are out there anyway.''
While the match was one-sided, Southby said there were plenty of positives and the odd negative to take from it.
''Our focus really was on attack and just nailing our centre pass processes. I thought we were much better at that tonight.
''There were some soft errors at times, and we were perhaps guilty of not shutting them down in the first quarter. But there was some good stuff out there.''
While the Steel was unable to equal a championship record, star shooter Jhanielle Fowler was. She equalled the 65 goals she scored against the Tactix in round two and now has the two highest individual scores in the history of the tournament.
The Tactix started well. They seemed determined to match the Steel by moving the ball up court quickly and to score at a rapid tempo.
But no team in the championship can rattle on goals quite like the Steel can. Three, sometimes four, passes was all the Steel generally needed to work the ball into the shooting circle.
Still, it was not until midway through the first quarter that the Steel was able to convert a break.
Tactix shooter Sophia Fenwick dropped the ball and, shortly after, Jade Clarke threw the ball out from a centre pass. That helped the Steel to take a 22-17 lead into the first break.
The Tactix had done well to score 17 goals. Clearly, the game plan was working to a certain extent. But stopping the Steel getting the ball to Fowler was proving impossible.
Tactix coach Leigh Gibbs needed to squeeze more out of her attack and opted to replace Fenwick with Julianna Naoupu.
The Steel's lead kept growing but, if anything, it had a negative impact on its game. The home side pushed passes that it might not have otherwise.
However, you cannot be too critical of a 13-point halftime.
The Tactix went to the bench for a solution, with Louise Thayer replacing Jane Watson at goal keep, Keshia Grant coming on at centre and Clarke shifting to wing defence.
The Tactix had their most competitive period but fell a further three goals behind and trailed by 16 with 15 minutes remaining.
Steel coach Janine Southby had the luxury of giving Selby-Rickit a run in place of Jodi Brown and also replaced Shannon Francois with Courtney Tairi at wing attack. Defenders Phoenix Karaka and Storm Purvis came on midway through the quarter. With four minutes remaining, Southby cleared her bench, giving Stacey Peeters a run at wing defence.
The match lost some flow and the 80-goal barrier went begging. But this was a very good performance from a team still pushing hard for a place in the playoffs.
The Queensland Firebirds have romped into second spot in the transtasman netball league with a 72-47 win over West Coast Fever in Perth yesterday.
But the defeat has left Fever coach Norma Plummer fuming and fed up with her mistake-riddled team, AAP reports.
The Firebirds went into the game on the back of losses to Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic and the Melbourne Vixens. However, they were granted a reprieve on Saturday when the NSW Swifts had an upset win over the second-placed Vixens, leaving the top-two spot wide open.
Queensland beat the Fever by 25 goals to move to an 8-3 win-loss record. The Fever does not have finals to look forward to but coach Plummer was in tears with disappointment.
''I'm just gutted. It's two years into it now and they have been given everything,'' she said.
''When you have players who feel they have to write on their hands to land on two feet and not to contact, then I'm sorry, it's just not good enough.''
The scores
Steel v Tactix
Steel 79
Jhanielle Fowler 65 from 69, Jodi Brown 12/14, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 2/4
Tactix 62
Jo Harten 38/43, Julianna Naoupu 14/19, Sophia Fenwick 10/16
Quarter scores: 1st 22-17, 2nd 43-30, 3rd 61-45
