Ovens and Murray has toppled Goulburn Valley in their first meeting in seven years.
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The home team grabbed the lead early and never relented, although the visitors closed to within three with a few minutes left before the O and M won, 42-35.
“It was a huge win, the girls fought hard all day, it was physical, so it was great,” co-coach Tamara Mathews said.
The GV was left to rue missed opportunities.
“Look, we had plenty of ball, we just didn’t make the most of it, we weren’t able to convert,” co-captain Steph Vick said.
“Both teams put on an excellent display of defence, we just couldn’t really get it down to our goalers to get the ball in I guess.”
Mathews said her gun defenders were outstanding.
“I think we were led really strongly by our defensive end, Hannah Symes and Kate Yensch were huge through defence,” she said.
For Lavington star Yensch, it capped a a magnificent return to country’s elite level after missing 18 months with Chronic fatigue syndrome.
“It’s been great coming back, I needed the break and I think I’ve come back with a lot more passion,” she said.
The defenders received strong support from a Toni Wilson medallist.
“Emily Browne’s impact in the midcourt, with some of the turnovers, was crucial,” Mathews said.
Mathews said prior to the match she was excited at the physical presence of her team and the players didn’t disappoint.
“Just the way they came together with our ball movement down the court and physically how they backed up each other up through that defensive third,” she said.
Sophie Hanrahan shot 24 goals from 35 attempts for the O and M, while Jess Fisher-Curnow was deadly accurate, missing only the one in posting 10.
It was the league’s first 15-minute per-quarter game for many years and the players responded with only Wodonga’s Sarah Thomas and Yarrawonga’s Laura Bourke unavailable of the automatic selections.
Half of the GV outfit was made up of players from Kyabram, with Elle Groves racking up 16 goals, while Shepparton United’s Jessie Barnes snared 15.
“We’re just learning to play with each other and we just weren’t as polished as what we were hoping to be,” Vick said.
Vick’s Kyabram team-mates Lauren Pryde and Ashlea Mangan were outstanding for the visitors.
Meanwhile in the 17 and under match, GV won by a goal in extra-time.
It was 44-apiece at full-time, with the teams playing seven-minute halves.
The visitors won 56-55, with the O and M applying enormous pressure in the final seconds.
