With two-month old daughter Kilani-Mae nestled in her grandmother's arms on the sideline, Southern Steel shooter Daneka Wipiiti made an impressive return to the court in the Queenstown Pre-Season Tournament last night.
The former Silver Fern nailed 30 of her 34 attempts at goal as her Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel team beat the Northern Mystics 64-62 in the annual tournament held in the Queenstown Events Centre, a month before the opening round of the 2010 ANZ Championship.

"It was a bit nerve-wracking," Wipiiti admitted. "You forget the physical aspect of the game ... my poor body - I was just bracing myself."

A hesitant start saw Steel facing a 0-4 deficit but it was merely a blip. The home side retaliated with four goals of its own and swooped on any available possession to notch up a healthy 18-13 buffer at the first break.

Steel centre Wendy Frew (nee Telfer) was instrumental on attack, while Leana de Bruin and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit formed an effective pairing in the defensive circle.

Trading goals for the majority of the second quarter, the Mystics struck in the latter stages with 11 goals to four and edged ahead 31-30 at half-time.

The second half was effectively a repeat of the first, with both teams battling for control of the game.

18-year-old Te Paea Selby-Rickit filled Wipiiti's shoes admirably in the third quarter, securing 11 from 12. Not to be outdone by her kid sister, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit shone in the final stanza with a hat-trick of intercepts.

For the Mystics, shooter Cathrine Latu was rock solid, slotting 26 from 26, while mid-courter Temepara George regularly spoiled Steel's flow.

Mystics coach Te Aroha Keenan was pleased with her charges.

"The result isn't what we're here for," she said. "We got some of our younger players on court and it was great to see them out there learning and absorbing everything."

In the first of the trans-Tasman clashes, Steel went down 56-48 to the Queensland Firebirds with superior shooting ultimately proving the difference. Towering Jamaican international Romelda Aiken was successful with 36 of her 39 attempts, and her accuracy was matched by goal attacks Alissa Castrisos and Sophie Croft, who each had half a game.

Trailing 10-12 after the opening spell, Steel upped the ante in the second quarter to snatch a narrow advantage, with mid-courters Frew, Liana Barrett-Chase and Erika Burgess reaping the rewards of a determined effort. However, with just seconds remaining in the quarter, Steel found themselves on the backfoot 25-26 and didn't draw level again until 10 minutes into the third period.

The raft of changes made by coach Roselee Jencke at half-time didn't upset the Firebirds greatly and, while Steel clawed their way back into contention, the lead was never surrendered.

Despite the loss, Steel could take several positives from the game, particularly the dynamic form of goal keep de Bruin who plucked several intercepts.

In other games played yesterday, a last quarter blitz enabled Canterbury Tactix to beat the Australian Institute of Sport 54-45, after trailing 26-30 at half-time.

Tactix then lost 50-62 to the Firebirds, who held a commanding 33-22 half-time lead and were never threatened.

Signalling their intentions to add to their first ANZ Championship victory last year, Central Pulse put in a gutsy effort to upset the Northern Mystics 66-60 after narrowly leading 33-32 at half-time.