The Steel, buoyed by a superb shooting game from former Silver Fern Donna Wilkins, looked well in control to lead 33-26 at halftime. But a fighting third quarter from the Auckland-based team saw them back in the game to trail 41-44 with 15 minutes remaining.
After a nightmare match two weeks ago against competition leaders Melbourne Vixens, goal attack Wilkins was back to her outstanding best, commanding the circle with authority then turning and shooting with unerring accuracy.
Wilkins only managed a 63 percent success rate against the Vixens, but was right on her game from the first whistle tonight.
In fact, it was only in the last minute of the second quarter that she missed her first shot, and she ended the game with an excellent 95 percent success rate, missing only two of her 37 shots on goal.
Wilkins said afterwards that it had been difficult coming off the bye, but the Steel knew they had to deliver
"We really had to come out firing after our game against the Vixens - we got a bit of a thumping," Wilkins told SkySport afterwards.
"But we regrouped after having the bye last weekend and we really needed to get this one on the road, so we're very happy with that performance."
Goal shoot Daneka Wipiiti, while not as accurate as Wilkins, managed to shoot 26 from 34 for a 76 percent success rate, and sunk some invaluable long shots in the final quarter.
Mystics captain Temepara George said the result was disappointing.
"It was really, really tough but the girls stuck to it right to the end and it was just a couple of passes that I threw away at the crucial time when we actually need to score."
Mystics goal shoot Cathrine Latu and goal attack Pamela Cookey took time to get into their work, but by the third quarter were splitting the circle well and sinking their shots with aplomb.
Cookey in particular continued some outstanding recent play, getting through a huge amount of work on defence, working the ball tirelessly on attack and shooting impeccably when it mattered.
Latu didn't have her best game of the ANZ Championship, sinking 29 from 37 for 78 percent, while Cookey was steadier in missing only three of her 26 shots.
Both teams started at pace, and were guilty of forcing the ball early on. However, ball retention improved once the game settled, although the midcourt battle continued to rage between livewire former New Zealand representative George and current Silver Fern Liana Barrett-Chase.
Ahead 17-16 at the end of the first quarter, the Steel were at their well-organised best in the second quarter as their Silver Fern circle defenders Katrina Grant and Sheryl Scanlan put pressure on the Mystics' feed into the circle.
Steel coach Robyn Broughton brought on Megan Hutton at goal keep for the third quarter for Grant, but the move was not a success as Hutton struggled to pressure the high feed into Latu and the Mystics won the spell 15-11 .
However, Grant returned for the last 15 minutes, and her combination with former Mystics player Scanlan was vital in a see-sawing final quarter.
The Mystics closed to within one goal midway through the spell, but the Steel maintained their composure, utilising the turnover ball they forced well to secure the well-earned win.
