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Daneka Wipiiti of the Steel - Source: Photosport -
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Southern Steel withstood a strong challenge from West Coast Fever to open their trans-Tasman netball league campaign on a winning note on Sunday.
Steel prevailed 46-44 in a tight finish after overcoming a five-goal deficit early in the fourth quarter.
They were behind 32-37 before goal attack and captain Megan Dehn began imposing herself to relieve the pressure on her goal shoot Daneka Wipiiti.
Australian Dehn had a mighty closing quarter, nailing seven of eight attempts to lift her match haul to 18 from 22.
Her increased presence meant Wipiiti did not carry the goalscoring burden on her own, and the New Zealand international did well with her own conversion rate of 28 from 33.
However, she ended the match under an injury cloud after being reduced to tears when landing heavily on her left knee in the final seconds.
Fever asked serious questions of last year's semifinalists, dominating the third quarter 15-8 to head into the last 15-minute period with a 35-32 advantage.
But Steel's greater experience told in the end although Fever were upset with a number of rulings which went against them down the stretch.
The Perth-based team were superbly served by Australian goal shoot Caitlin Bassett, who slotted 34 of 35 attempts, a heavy workload forced on her by her shooting partner Leah Shoard, who managed just 10 of 15 attempts.
Dehn said her side became too hesitant in the third quarter when Fever assumed control before they turned that around by showing more trust in each other.
"We really stepped up in the last quarter and started to play to each other and have confidence in each other to let the ball go," she told Sky Sport.
