The Southern Steel have claimed another big win in the ANZ Premiership with a dominating 73-53 win over the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Invercargill last night.
Steel import shooter Lenize Potgieter was on-song in the victory, making 39 of her 43 attempts in her first match against her former team of two seasons.
The South African was made to work in the contest though with Magic defenders Casey Kopua and Kelly Jury testing her range throughout the contest. Matters weren't helped by another average performance from teammate Te Paea Selby-Rickit.
Selby-Ricket finished with 17 goals on 25 attempts - an effort Steel assistant coach Lauren Piebenga put down to confidence.
Kopua continued to battle for the ball but wasteful possessions and turnovers in the midcourt saw her valiant efforts eventually go to waste.
After a tight first quarter finished 16-15 in the hosts' favour, the scoreline blew out to 39-28 at halftime.
With the lead comfortably sitting at 49-34, the Steel gave Potgieter a rest and replaced her with Jennifer O'Connell who went on to make 17 of her 18 attempts.
The win gave the Steel their third-straight victory since their shock loss to the Northern Stars to start the season, moving them to the top of the table.
However, the undefeated Central Pulse are right behind them with a game in hand.
The Magic sit in fourth with one win from four matches.
Both sides have the rest of the week to tune up for their round four clashes on Sunday, where the Magic head north to face the Mystics while the Steel host the Tactix.
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