The reigning premiers equalled the club record of seven consecutive women's wins on Saturday when they beat the winless Suns 6.8 (44) to 4.4 (28).
While Gold Coast are yet to win an AFLW Q-Clash, they lost no friends in their first visit to Springfield and heaped the pressure on Brisbane.
Starcevich said it was "not completely unexpected" that the Suns came hard at the Lions, who hold second place with three rounds before the finals.
Lions coach Craig Starcevich was impressed by how his side handled the pressure. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)
"This time last year, we were dropping these types of games ... where opponents snuck up on us and we weren't ready and we paid the price, whereas today I thought we scrapped and battled reasonably well," he said.
"All things considered, we held our nerve.
"It's actually great for us - if we have our sights set on November, then these types of games are super-valuable.
"You get the points, you get a few little lessons on the way through, you're not getting soft wins."
Similarly, Suns coach Cameron Joyce praised his team for a relentless effort, as they drew to within one goal of the lead in the last term.
"Probably in my time we haven't looked getting anywhere near Brisbane. It shows us that yes, the ladder is the ladder, but maybe there's the truth somewhere in the middle," Joyce said.
No goals were kicked in the third term - the first time Brisbane have been goal-less in 22 quarters.
When Suns captain Tara Bohanna kicked the opening goal of the last term, her second for the game, her team was within one straight kick and a massive upset seemed possible.
Tara Bohanna kicked two goals to keep the Suns in the game against the Brisbane Lions. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)
But Starcevich noted that Brisbane's much-vaunted midfield won the next clearance and the Lions then camped the ball at their end of the ground.
Sure enough, the pressure eventually told and Dakota Davidson was able to take a mark and kick her only goal of the game to seal the issue.
Lions midfielder Isabel Dawes was best afield, her 27 disposals featuring a whopping 21 contested possessions.
But even more importantly for Starcevich, Dawes showed great leadership in the last term, when the rain arrived and the game was on the line.
Midfield star Isabel Dawes led the way for Brisbane with 27 disposals against Gold Coast. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)
Similarly, Daisy D'Arcy racked up seven clearances and eight tackles in her midfield game for the Suns.
Brisbane forward Taylor Smith extended her lead as the league's top goalkicker this season, kicking the Lions' two goals in the opening term and taking her tally to 16.
Third-gamer Taya Oliver also kicked their first two AFLW goals as the Suns went toe-to-toe with the Lions and trailed by two points at quarter-time.
The Lions threatened to break the game open in the second term with three goals to one and led by 14 points at the main break.
Brisbane ball magnet Ally Anderson racked up 20 possessions in the opening half and had 31 for the game, with six clearances and eight tackles.
The match became a grind in the third term, as Suns midfield ace Charlie Rowbottom started to shake Cathy Svarc's tag.
After only six possessions to half-time, Rowbottom racked up seven in the third term and had a tussle with Svarc on the three-quarter-time siren.
Rowbottom had another eight in the final quarter for a team-high 21 disposals, with six clearances and five tackles.Â
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