The Central Pulse's unbeaten march through the ANZ Premiership has finally come to an end.
The Southern Steel dished out the first loss of the capital crew's season on Monday night, emerging with a 65-52 win in Invercargill.
The loss conjured up some unwelcome memories for the Pulse. It was their first since last year's final, where they allowed the Steel to close with seven straight goals and pull off an epic comeback to clinch the title.
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The victory ensured the Steel's perfect home record remained intact and provided a huge boost of self-belief, as the business end of the season loomed large.
"It's massive," said Steel captain Gina Crampton. "It's not the hoodoo of 'can we do it?', because we know we have now, so really stoked with that going forward."
The Steel's South African shooter Lenize Potgieter was in dominant form, netting 45 of her 47 attempts on goal, while wing attack Crampton and centre Shannon Saunders also got the better of their opposite numbers.
The Pulse still need one more victory from their final two round games to confirm first place and an automatic spot in the final, while the Steel are still four points adrift in second place on the ladder.
Newshub.
