South Otago High School clinched a threepeat in a nailbiting Otago secondary schools final at the Edgar Centre yesterday.
South Otago won its third straight title with a 15-13 win over rival Columba College.
The two teams were neck and neck throughout as some early poor shooting from both teams kept the game 8-6 in South Otago's favour at the half.
Identical twins and New Zealand triallists Sophie and Abby Erwood showed their quality for South Otago, but were evenly matched with the well-drilled Columba team.
A third-quarter surge meant the game started to move in Columba's favour.
Columba led 11-9 at the end of the third, and its crisp passing and halfcourt defence had the Dunedin school looking well placed to win.
However, South Otago played well when it counted in the final minutes of the quarter.
Big defensive plays by their wings and defensive anchor Abby Erwood helped force turnovers and finally gave South Otago back the lead with two minutes remaining.
Sophie Erwood's experience showed as she hit a dagger with seconds on the clock, giving the Balclutha school the 15-13 win.
''We won because of the determination of everybody,'' coach Cheryl Blair said.
''It was an amazing team win.''
• The Melbourne Vixens seized their spot in the ANZ Championship grand final with a hard-fought 52-47 victory over the Queensland Firebirds in Melbourne last night.
For the second time in three years, the Vixens, the minor premiership winners, will host the final.
- Leni Ma'ia'i
