Maria Tutaia could have been shooting from the car park at Porirua's Te Rauparaha Arena, it wouldn't have mattered.
The returning Silver Ferns shooter made a big difference in their attack, as they beat England 62-55 on Thursday night to bounce back from their 49-45 loss last week.
Tutaia missed their past two games while on bereavement leave, so her return gave the Silver Ferns' attack a massive boost, shooting from long range, sometimes near the circle edge, and nailing most of her long bombs.
"She had a great game from a shooting point of view tonight and I think she certainly led that end really well and I think she even got an intercept on defence," Southby said.
"We've been putting a lot of pressure on our attackers to get on D and get ball.
"It's not just about these guys who have the defence on their bibs, the rest of the team has got to do the work too. Credit to the work she's done.
"She just shoots from anywhere and when she's in that mood and she's just 'give me the ball and I'll shoot it', you can't stop her."
It wasn't just through Tutaia's efforts though, as New Zealand's defence battled hard all game and the impact from the bench made a big difference.
New Zealand held a slender 29-28 lead at halftime, and it took until the last quarter before the Silver Ferns pulled clear.
"I'd be pleased with the last quarter," Southby said.
"The urgency and the intensity really stepped up and there was a calmness and belief in the group, which just felt like all of a sudden they connected and were doing what they were saying they were going to do.
"We'll certainly have to look at the other three quarters and the effort under the intensity heading into the Napier test [on Sunday]."
Shooter Te Paea Selby-Rickit, wing attack Grace Rasmussen, goal keep Temalisi Fakahokotau and Jane Watson, playing out of position at wing defence, all contributed off when they came off the bench.
England coach Tracey Neville was disappointed they let the game get away on them, having been in the contest until mid-way through the fourth stanza.
"I think it was a game where I don't think the score reflected the game all the way through," she said. "However the inability to reward ourselves to take the victory probably did reflect that score.
"I think we had opportunities to win that game. That's something we've got to look at but I think the girls kept plugging and pushing through, but there's only so many opportunities you can create.
"They're a top side and we just needed to capitalise on it."
The improving England will still give the Silver Ferns a hard time in the next two tests in Napier on Sunday and Hamilton on Wednesday if their efforts on Thursday are anything to go by.
England have beaten the Silver Ferns only five times, and you'd fancy New Zealand don't want them to add to that tally for the rest of this series.
But you wouldn't count England out with the way they looked on Thursday.
"There's been some massive relationship building in that game and some massive learnings that we can only take forward and this is just one step in our goal towards Commonwealth [Games]," Neville said.
But despite that it was the Silver Ferns who were the better side in the second half of a physical encounter.
The lead changed hands multiple times throughout the game. Even though the Silver Ferns were up 29-28 at halftime, it was tit for tat for most of the second spell.
New Zealand gave themselves a buffer late in the game, but it was by no means easy.
The Silver Ferns forced England into late mistakes and capitalised. Returning defender Fakahokotau made a big impact off the bench for New Zealand and grabbed a couple of crucial steals.
Goal shoot Selby-Rickit also came off the bench and made a difference, lifting their attack at a time when England had them under pressure in the shooting circle.
England defender Geva Mentor made life hard for New Zealand and was like a second skin for the Silver Ferns shooters, especially Bailey Mes, not allowing them any space.
Jo Harten, who has returned to the England team, is still finding her feet, but is a big threat in the shooting circle.
Silver Ferns 62 (Maria Tutaia 31/37, Bailey Mes 11/14, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 20/24) England 55 (Jo Harten 31/37, Helen Housby 24/33). 1Q: 15-15, HT: 29-28, 3Q: 42-40
Photo by: MARTY MELVILLE/GETTY IMAGES
Caption: Silver Ferns shooter Maria Tutaia, right, was on song against England in the opening Taini Jamison Trophy match on Thursday.