At a glance

Tiana Metuarau, who started in many matches last season, came on and moved into goal attack, with Ameliaranne Ekenasio moving to goal shoot, vastly changing the dynamic of the Pulse’s shooting circle.

Metuarau missed all three of her shots before halftime.

Fortunately for her, the Steel lost their way a little in the second, making three simple errors through the middle stages to hand the ascendancy back to the Pulse, who were able to close to 27-24 by halftime thanks to accurate shooting by Ekenasio.

The Pulse had also stepped up their defence in the quarter as captain Katrina Rore won two turnovers, including an impressive block on Steel goal shoot Lenize Potgieter.

Dunn spent most of the second quarter icing her right shoulder on the bench, so it was somewhat surprising to see her return to start the second half with that shoulder strapped.

The Steel also made a change in their shooting circle, bringing on Jennifer O’Connell for Potgieter.

Dunn’s return helped the Pulse continue the momentum with which they had finished the second quarter and they took their first lead since the second minute six minutes into the third quarter after O’Connell had Central Pulse 54 (Ameliaranne Ekenasio 34/37, Aliyah Dunn 20/23, Tiana Metuara 0/3) Southern Steel 50 (Lenize Potgieter 23/27, Te Paea SelbyRickit 18/19, Jennifer O’Connell 4/5). Q1: 11-17; HT: 24-27; Q3: 39-37. Points (games played): Pulse 14 (5), Steel 13 (6), Stars 9 (5), Magic 6 (5), Tactix 6 (6), Mystics 1 (5).