The Southern Steel beat the Tactix 47-45 in the battle of the mid-table teams in the ANZ netball Premiership.
George Fisher of the Steel Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Also the Northern Mystics cemented second spot with a 68-63 win over the bottom placed Magic.
The Steel completed a dramatic late come-from-behind rally to clinch the points and remain third in the standings three points ahead of the Tactix.
The Tactix started the final quarter with seven straight goals and with it a five-goal lead, but the youthful and gritty Steel showed their hand late in the piece to repeat the dose.
Scoring seven of their own pushed the Steel back into the lead with just under two minutes to go and from there they didn't allow the Tactix to make any further inroads.
Still recovering from a head knock suffered last week, the Tactix were dealt a blow when key 1.96m shooter Ellie Bird was ruled out for the clash, her place being taken by 30-year-old doctor Kate Grant.
Meanwhile the Northern Mystics continued their charge towards the top of the table, holding off a fired-up Magic to uplift the Hobbiton Cup for the first time.
It wasn't a spotless performance from the Mystics, but it was a winning one, which sees them hold onto second place on the ANZ Premiership ladder, still a single point behind the Stars.
And it was another gutsy effort from the Magic, who held the lead at numerous times throughout the match and were never out of contention until the last two minutes.
But the Mystics attacking combination of Grace Nweke (who shot 57 from 61 at 93 percent) and MVP Peta Toeava is proving increasingly difficult to stop. And the second half injection of poised and potent goal attack Filda Vui, who took some pressure off Nweke, helped cement the visitors' victory.
After nine rounds the Stars have 22 points, Mystics 21, Steel 18, Tactix 15, Pulse 14 and Magic 7.
