She has regained her zest and spark at the Magic, and was one of the best players on court in last week's win over the Vixens in Melbourne. It's the kind of play that marked her as a special talent early in her career. She made the Auckland Diamonds team as a 17-year-old and was still a teenager when she first took the court for the Mystics in 2008. Rasmussen was in the Silver Ferns set-up by 2009 and won a Commonwealth Games gold medal as part of the victorious New Zealand team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
That rapid rise was followed by a sharp fall. A torn anterior cruciate ligament ended her 2011 Mystics season prematurely, also destroying her chances of playing at the world championships in Singapore later that year. She fought her way back to form and fitness in 2012 - as the Mystics made the finals again - and was named in the Ferns side later that year before pulling out with a stress fracture on the eve of the Quad Series.
Last year was meant to be redemption. She completed a full pre-season, trained harder than ever and was ready for a big campaign, only to be part of a Mystics team that won only one of 14 league matches.
"We had our problems with injuries, we had a new coach, but mainly we just couldn't get going as a team," says Rasmussen. "It was a very difficult season and pretty devastating for me."
Rasmussen was caught in the middle of a midcourt malaise at the Mystics, with no obvious replacement for Temepara George.
"I played some games at centre but I had no idea what I was doing in there," says Rasmussen. "I was switching around a lot and wasn't great at either centre or wing attack."
Still, Rasmussen was confident of an international recall, especially after Liana Leota made herself unavailable and Camilla Lees was ruled out through injury. However, Wai Taumaunu plumped for unheralded youngster Courtney Tairi and rookie Shannon Francois for the Constellation Cup series.
"It was pretty devastating," says Rasmussen. "I had worked really hard to get myself back to a level that I knew I was capable of, so I took it quite hard."
It's early days in the ANZ Championship season but Rasmussen is surely back in the frame, her name likely to be already prominent in the notebooks of national selectors. She has enjoyed a stellar start to the season, as the Magic have confounded predictions by remaining unbeaten in the first four rounds.
They already had a defensive platform, with the retention of Casey Kopua and Leana de Bruin, but how would they fare with an all-new attacking end? So far just fine. Rasmussen and Tairi have gelled well in the middle of the court and have struck up an immediate combination with Jo Harten and Ellen Halpenny in the circle.
"It didn't work instantly - we didn't win a game in pre-season," says Rasmussen. "But we all have similar strengths and it is going well so far."
It helps that the team have bonded well off the court. Tairi, Harten and Halpenny live in the 'Magic house' (a flat set up by the franchise) and Rasmussen is a guest when she chooses not to travel back to Auckland after training.
The Magic will look to continue their winning streak today against a dangerous Fever side, bolstered by the signing of Natalie Medhurst. They have won only one game in 2014 but boast the most prolific scorer (Caitlin Bassett, averaging more than 41 goals a game this season) as well as English star Eboni Beckford-Chambers and Diamond Chelsea Pitman.
"We can't be complacent at all," says Rasmussen. "They've got a speedy midcourt and everybody knows how good Caitlin Bassett is. They'll also play quite a physical game and be aggressive on defence, so it should be a good test for us."
