They even faced the same opponents — St Margaret’s College — but there was to be no repeat of the extraordinary 2023 final, which the Dunedin school won in extra time.
St Margaret’s took the honours 39-28 in Christchurch yesterday.
The damage was almost entirely done in the first quarter.
Columba looked a little nervous and St Margaret’s, led by outstanding goal keep Julia Mitchell, turned up the heat on defence to leap to a 12-4 lead.
Lucy Morrison found her shooting range and Billie-Rose Craig was a ball of energy at wing defence as Columba came roaring back in the second quarter, closing the gap to 17-13 at halftime.
The second half fluctuated but St Margaret’s made the shots that counted, leading 28-20 after three quarters before holding firm down the stretch.
In a thrilling semifinal earlier in the day, Columba had to hold their nerve to grab a 37-36 win over St Andrew’s.
Columba led 10-8 after the first quarter and 20-15 at halftime, but scores were tied 27-27 after the third quarter.
St Andrew’s grabbed a quick two-goal lead in the final quarter and held that advantage with just 2min 30sec to go before Columba levelled the scores. Then, with barely 1sec left on the clock, goal attack Morrison drained the winning goal for the Dunedin school.
St Margaret’s beat Christchurch Girls’ 40-27 in the other A grade semifinal.
St Hilda’s finished fifth with a 29-18 win over Central Southland College.
Waitaki Girls’ (17th) and Cromwell College (25th) had one-point wins in their respective finals, while James Hargest beat Otago Girls’ in the playoff for 13th, and Taieri College beat Dunstan in the playoff for 19th. Mt Aspiring finished 21st, St Kevin’s 24th, Wakatipu 27th, Southland Girls’ 29th and Verdon 31st.
Queen’s were the best southern school in B grade, finishing fourth.
