The Mystics turned to their star shooter earlier than hoped in their opening round clash with the Tactix after finding themselves seven goals down at the first break as rookie shooter Elsa Brown struggled with the pace in her transtasman league debut.
"Easing my way back into it was thrown out the window after that 45-minute game against the Tactix. But there's no other way to test it other than to get out on court and push as hard as I can," said Latu.
"Not many people saw how much I crashed afterwards, only my teammates really knew. I just had to go straight to bed after the game because it took so much out of me."
Latu said she has been steadily improving and is feeling more comfortable with each training session.
"After the Fever game I know I had a lot more left," she said.
Mystics coach Debbie Fuller will be hoping not to have to manage any players this weekend against the Thunderbirds, in what will be another tough away assignment for her side.
The Auckland side produced a shambolic performance in Perth last weekend, as the Fever took advantage of the Mystics' high turnover count and lacklustre defensive effort.
"Our ability to manage that defensive pressure for longer periods is what we were lacking [against the Fever].
"We're not looking for excuses, we're looking at locking in what we need to do. Losing by 16 is hard to take, but you can't hide from it - we just weren't good enough."
The Thunderbirds were outclassed by the defending champion Melbourne Vixens in round two, following a 45-44 home loss to the Magic in round one.
But Fuller is taking little comfort from the Thunderbirds' winless record, saying they would "come out after us and attack us, and what a great challenge for us."
The Southern Steel will be hoping they fare better in Perth than the Mystics as the Fever once again put their Challenge Trophy on the line.
In the other big transtasman clash of the weekend, the injury-depleted Magic face a tough match-up against the Vixens in Tauranga.
