The Stars have endured a tough outing in the penultimate match of their ANZ Premiership campaign, losing to the Steel 71-59 in Auckland.
Knowing they were purely playing for pride for the remainder of the season, the Stars came out looking calm and composed and it translated on the court.
They were more direct and intentional with attacking play, with some slick passing capped off by goal shoot Amelia Walmsley making a strong start by imposing herself under the hoop, while well supported by Martina Salmon.
The Stars took a 16-13 lead after quarter one, but will have felt it could have been a lot more after missing several opportunities to capitalise on great pressure at the defensive end by throwing the ball away cheaply.
Still, the signs were positive and with a sold-out crowd behind them, the Stars were determined to please those in attendance.
The Steel wedged themselves into the contest and began to pile pressure onto the Stars. After forcing some errors, the deficit was erased and the scores were level.
Samon Nathan had some nice touches in the centre bib, using her experience to pierce through the Steel defence with some dynamic feeds.
The Steel were relentless for the entire quarter and made the most of nearly every opportunity to hurt the Stars, enjoying a 21-goal quarter and powering to a 34-29 lead at half-time.
Kate Walsh came on at goal defence and partnered Kate Burley at the defensive end to begin the second half.
Walsh was a nuisance inside the Steel shooting circle and was rewarded with some important turnovers as the Stars fought to stay in the game.
Both sides went toe to toe for the first half of the third quarter, trading goals, with each team giving up just one turnover.
The Stars could not find a way to eat back into the four-goal deficit and with the Steel landing a two-point bomb to end the quarter, they found themselves trailing 52-46.
Unfortunately for the Stars, the fourth quarter followed much of the same storyline, with an inability to win turnover ball affecting their chances of closing the gap. As each second ticked down, the Steel seemed to play with more confidence.
Salmon returned to the court from a spell and made an immediate impact with some flair and much-needed spark.
Aimee Landrigan rejoined Burley at the defensive end and the pair remained busy to the final whistle with five gains between them.
The Stars will finish their season back at home on Saturday when they host the Pulse.
