The Southern Steel continued their strong recent play with a 75-53 win over the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in Invercargill on Monday night.
Led by red-hot goal shoot Lenize Potgieter, the southerners clinched the contest with a second-quarter onslaught, nailing 23 goals to help seal their third consecutive win.
Playing against her former team for the first time, Potgieter sank 39 of her 43 attempts against the Silver Ferns defensive combo of Kelly jury and Casey Kopua.
She was replaced early in the third quarter by Jennifer O'Connell, who was equally impressive in her shorter stint, finishing with 17 goals from 18 attempts.
Steel coach Reinga Bloxham was pleased with the performance, but insisted there was room for improvement.
"I think their defensive duo is awesome at times," Bloxham said. "It's very hard to penetrate in there.
"I think that's a real credit to the feeders we've got in there.
"Our plan was to not give them too many turnovers. I know, at times, they did, but for most of the time, it was well-controlled.''
Less impressed was Magic captain Kopua. With just a solitary win from the opening four rounds, the veteran defender pointed to the side's lack of execution.
"We didn't do anything that we practiced in training on the court," she said post-match. "Which is quite embarrassing, to be honest.
"It's a fine balance, and we're flirting with either zero or hero at the moment. There might be a bit of fog in the brain, I don’t know."
The Magic will look to right the ship against the Mystics in Auckland on Sunday, when the Steel are also back in action against the Tactix at home.
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