Baylis said after an honest team talk at halftime, Whanganui regrouped to take the lead, and then Kat Benton, who had a good positional match, put the match away with her goal.
"That was the use of a get-out-of-jail-free card," said Baylis
"Things that would normally come off in the first half, didn't come off.
"We said at halftime, 'we know we're better than this, so maybe let's just take a breath'.
"It was the little traps and passes that were not going well, putting us under pressure."
The grade will take a break this weekend with the regional Under 18 tournament in Palmerston North, and then Whanganui will play College Development, who bounced back from recent disappointments to beat HSHC B 5-1 on Saturday.
There are two games left until the playoffs and Baylis said the Evergreens game was a timely reminder they couldn't be complacent, as her team have been short of a training run recently.
"I think we really needed it. It was hard graft, a bit of a draining game."
Tech College Old Boys had no cards to play in their 7-0 hammering by College at Gonville on Saturday, officially ending any hopes of finishing in the Top 4.
College led 4-0 at the break and went on with it in the second stanza, converting their penalty corners on four occasions while also whacking in a couple of strokes.
"The wheels fell off a bit. They just really dominated possession and dictated the game," said TCOB coach Russell Burgess.
"Our boys were slow to react, they didn't climb into the game.
"They didn't stand up on their man until six goals down. Too little too late.
"It's knocked the wind out of our sales.
While TCOB had four youngsters away and lost Josh McDonnell after a blow to the kneecap early on, Burgess said this was little excuse.
Two players getting green cards did not help either.
Callum Wilbur was player of the day, while young Tom Adkins again had a good match.
Zack Newbury created a rare opportunity for himself early on but couldn't convert it, which summed up TCOB's day as they did not get many shots on goal.
"I talked to the College coach. He said it was the best game they've played, but that's because we let them," Burgess said.
Their next game after this weekend's break will be against Palmerston North Boys High School at the Twin Turfs.