Even though Columba was beaten 52-36 by College A, it took College until the third quarter to make certain its win.
Columba's confidence is growing with each outing and its no-fear approach when playing top Dunedin players is admirable. The schoolgirls go about their business with a self-belief well beyond their years.
The Janine Southby-coached side looks poised to do very well again at the South Island secondary schools championships in Nelson next month.
In the opening quarter of its match against College, Columba went out to a quick 5-2 advantage and College was scrambling to find its feet.
Columba's Bridget Thayer played a dominant role, making of the nine shots at goal for the quarter. Late in the quarter, College responded with a run of five unanswered goals to take the quarter 12-9.
In the opening minutes of the second quarter that was extended due to a couple of unforced errors by Columba.
The schoolgirls were quick to regain their composure and, with a flurry of four quick consecutive goals, trailed 24-19 at halftime.
In both the third and fourth quarters, College profited from Columba's failure to maintain its focus.
Columba appeared to go off the boil with about five minutes to go in each of the last two quarters, in which College sank five and four unanswered goals in the respective quarters.
In other matches, University-Albion continued its dominance with a 59-38 win against PhysEd A, and Southern A beat Southern B 49-45.
