A 22-game winning streak came to an end tonight for the Southern Steel.
The side was beaten 62-51 by the Central Pulse in Palmerston North, as both sides backed up after wins first up yesterday.
A slow start saw the Steel fall behind 4-0 early and that set the tone for the rest of the game.
The Pulse midcourt was relentless, applying pressure and forcing the Steel into turnovers.
At the other end it was slick on attack, feeding its shooters well.
Indeed its shooters made 62/67 of its attempts, a mark far higher than the Steel's 51/66.
The Steel was behind 16-12 at the end of the first quarter, before the Pulse extended that to 32-27 at halftime.
Another strong quarter saw the Pulse take that to 48-40, before it completed the job in the final quarter.
The Steel's streak included an unbeaten 16 match ANZ Premiership season last year, five wins in the Super Club tournament and yesterday's season opener.
