The Mid South East Netball Association played a thriller against Great Southern Netball Association (GSNA) in the Division 2 (B grade) final in Adelaide over the Kings Birthday long weekend.
After a topsy turvy minor round they came away with a one goal win in the semi final over Yorke Peninsula and earned themselves the opportunity to face the GSNA for the third time over the weekend.
Having gone down by four and two in the minor rounds they were seeking redemption.
The Mid SE started strongly breaking the first centre and scoring through Ebony McDiarmid.
Nerves unsettled Great Southern and Mid South East went out to a 4-0 lead, with Abbey Duncan settling the side, combining well with Annie Regnier and youngster Evie Sealey.
With teams going goal for goal, defenders Alana Berkefeld, Demi Vanderhorst and Sarah Edwards worked tirelessly, forcing Great Southern into passing errors and missed shots.
Once Great Southern settled, the height of the GSNA GS and accuracy of their GA caused headaches for the MSE defenders.
The game continued goal for goal with the Mid SE defenders working hard to limit opportunities and forcing Great Southern into passing errors and missed shots.
Wayward passing in the Mid SE attack line allowed Great Southern back into the game.
A late intercept by Edwards stemmed the flow and Mid SE went into half time one goal down.
Great Southern scored the first goal of the half and pushed out to a 19-16 lead.
The experience of Duncan and McDiarmid in the circle started to show with great positioning, feeding and accuracy.
This combined with the strong defence of Vanderhorst, Berkefeld and Edwards helped Mid SE claw back the three goal deficit.
A held ball call late in the second gave Mid SE the opportunity to score through a penalty shot to Duncan, followed quickly by the full time siren with the score 27-all.
With the game going into overtime, Great Southern made some changes in the circle while Mid SE remained unchanged.
Both teams struggled to get the upper hand.
Great Southern held a one goal lead at the break.
A rare missed shot by the Great Southern GS was capitalised on and Mid SE scored to even the game.
Great Southern replaced their GA and pushed back to level the scores after a contact call to McDiarmid.
With scores even late in the game, great defensive pressure gave a turnover opportunity to Regnier, with Duncan scoring and giving Mid SE a one goal lead with 10 seconds to go.
A defensive tap out by Vanderhorst disrupted the flow and the whistle went while in the Great Southern goal circle.
Mid SE came away victorious with a one goal win.
