The classy Mainland Tactix shooter was back to her best as she slotted 18 goals from 18 attempts in her return to the ANZ Premiership on Saturday.
It might have only been a 24-minute spell for Dunn, who has been sidelined since the start of the season with a knee injury, but she certainly played her part in the Tactix victory.
The Tactix thumped the Southern Steel 71-47 in Invercargill and recorded their biggest win — and highest score in regular time — in their 17-year history.
They were clinical right across the court, from Karin Burger’s tips to the strength of Ellie Bird (33 goals from 34 attempts) and Dunn under the post.
They showed exactly why they are at the top of the table, and the Steel just had no answers to stop them.
The Tactix’ ball speed and vision to look long every time was impressive and caught the Steel on the bounce.
The Silver Ferns defensive duo of Jane Watson and Karin Burger put the Steel shooters under all sorts of pressure and confused the space for the feeders.
The scoreline gave Tactix coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek the luxury of giving their bench a run, and former Steel shooter Jess Allan made some impact with her explosive speed.
To be frank, the Steel were just outplayed in a frustrating performance from the home side.
They struggled to pick up ball defensively and bring it through the court, and at times their inexperience — with several fill-ins on court — came through.
The Steel stuck with the Tactix in the opening minutes, but when Burger snatched a crosscourt ball, things started to unravel.
The Tactix found their entry into their shooters too easy and took a 18-12 lead at the first break.
Captain Kate Heffernan carried a big workload for the Steel with 31 feeds and 15 goal assists, but Tactix counterpart Greer Sinclair, who matched up well with the Steel’s star, also impressed.
Sinclair was a nuisance in the middle, picking up tips, and is never afraid to look long and let the ball go into her shooters.
The Tactix put their foot down and punished the Steel at the post to lead 36-23 at halftime.
The Steel coughed up 28 general play turnovers, while the Tactix had 17.
The Steel had some nice passages, but they were few and far between as the intensity started to dip and the Tactix made sure of everything.
It will be a game the Steel will be happy to dump and move on from.
On a positive note, the Steel’s shooting percentage vastly improved from the 67% they finished with against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic six days earlier.
Grace Namana missed only three goals in her large workload of 34 goals, Georgia Heffernan finished with 11 from 15 and Summer Temu slotted her two goals.
But the volume of ball into the shooters, and ball picked up across the court, was severely lacking.
Things do not get any easier for the Steel. They face the second-placed Central Pulse in Invercargill next Monday.
The Central Pulse beat the Northern Stars 46-43 yesterday. The Northern Mystics face the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic tonight.
ANZ Premiership
The scores
Mainland Tactix 71
Ellie Bird 33/34, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 15/18, Aliyah Dunn 18/18, Jess Allan 5/6
Southern Steel 47
Grace Namana 34/37, Georgia Heffernan 11/15, Summer Temu 2/2
Quarter scores: 18-12, 36-23, 54-35.
