The Southern Steel have broken out of their slump with a 49-47 win over the Northern Stars at the Auckland Netball Centre on Sunday.
In a low-scoring affair, the Steel rode some hard-nosed defence and some critical plays down the stretch to register their first victory of the season through their four games to date.
After the Steel took the advantage in the opening quarter, the Stars battled back to reduce the deficit to just three goals heading into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, the Steel wrestled back the momentum on the back of some hard-working defence, despite losing Kate Heffernan to what looked like a nasty knee injury.
But the Stars swiftly erased the Steel's four-goal lead to tie the scores 36-36 heading into the final quarter.
Both sides traded blows in the fourth period until some key defensive plays helped the Steel establish a buffer that they never relinquished.
They'll try to back that up against the Central Pulse on Saturday, while the Stars will take on the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic on Sunday.
