Steel shooter Daneka Wipiiti finished her ANZ Championship campaign on a high note last night, helping her side close out an important 52-50 win against the Mystics at Stadium Southland.
The 26-year-old confirmed earlier in the week she was pregnant and last night announced she had played her last game this season.
"It is very emotional," she said, shortly after the narrow win.
"The team is great and when it comes to crucial times you want to be there with your team.
"But I've got bigger and better things now.
"So I'm putting my netball shoes away and looking at knitting booties or whatever."
Wipiiti, who landed 29 of her 33 attempts, will be sorely missed in the squad.
She has been in good form this year and played well again last night.
Former Steel shooter Megan Dehn will replace Wipiiti.
The Steel's win was a small but vital step towards securing a semifinal appearance.
The win lifts it into fourth place with six wins from 10 matches, but the home side almost blew a handy seven-goal, half-time lead.
The Auckland-based side trailed for most of the game and will be cursing itself for an error-ridden opening 30 minutes which left it with too much ground to make up.
Uncharacteristic mistakes from experienced centre Temepara George and lacklustre performances from Cathrine Latu and Vilimaina Davu furnished the Steel with a generous head start.
George showed glimpses of what the Silver Ferns have been missing for the past two years with some elegant play, including threading the needle to find Pamela Cookey under the hoop for an easy goal early.
While the England international converted that opportunity, she tossed away a regulation shot moments later to give the Steel its first break.
The basic mistakes which have troubled the Mystics all season returned to haunt the visitors with some poor passing going straight to Steel hands.
That allowed the home side to build a handy 14-9 lead.
It could have been more had a stray pass from Grace Rasmussen not bounced off the post into Latu's mitts, and Wipiiti slotted a late shot after Adine Wilson found her with a superb pass from halfway.
George made up for some earlier blunders when she picked off a pass from Megan Hutton and whipped it into her shooter to help end a seven-goal unanswered run.
Mystics coach Te Aroha Keenan used an injury break to replace Latu with Jade Topia, which helped halt her side's slide.
The Steel had led by 12 goals but surrendered some of that advantage with a sloppy finish to the half.
It was former Silver Ferns defender Vilimaina Davu's turn to take a seat with Rachel Rasmussen replacing her early in the third period.
The fresh legs enabled the Mystics to close to within four goals, a gap which remained in place for most of the remainder of the match.
Steel defender Katrina Grant drew thunderous applause from the 2657-strong crowd when she snatched another intercept.
But the margin was reinstated when it went awry down the other end.
An absorbing and tense final quarter followed in which both sides showed utter desperation.
Wipiiti was stunned momentarily when she collided with the post, Wilson retrieved a ball that looked destined to disappear over the sideline and Wilkins kept close to the ball with the season hanging in the balance.
Steel (Daneka Wipiiti 29 from 33, Donna Wilkins 23/29) Mystics (Cathrine Latu 5/6, Pamela Cookey 21/25, Jade Topia 24/29).
Quarter 14-9, Half-time 28-21 third quarter 39-35.
