Lady Eagles hold off determined Saints in seesawing affair

Looma Lady Eagles have soared over the Saints in a hard-fought tussle.

It was do or die for the Lady Eagles and the Saints as they in an elimination semifinal on Saturday at Haynes Oval.

The match began as a scrappy contest as both teams looked to shut each other down early.

However, Looma’s Antonia Pindan got her team on the board with the first major of the match.

As Saints put the pressure on Chloe Blauuw stepped up and evened the score with a goal of her own.

Looma would take the lead once again with two behinds, although it was short lived because by quarter-time Sophira Buaneye had booted a goal to give the Saints the four-point lead.

The Lady Eagles began to fight hard for a comeback during the second term, resulting in majors from Kieesha Rogers, Antonia Pindan and Kate Ditchburn allowing them to take the lead.

Although Saints’ Hayley Pearson would contribute to her team’s tally with a goal, Looma held on to lead 4.3 (27) to 3.0 (18) at the major break.

The contest quickly became a tug of war in the third term with only one goal kicked for each team via Jyrene Hunter for Looma and Marissa McCarthy for Saints.

After the final change, Saints began to rally for a late comeback with a quick goal from Buaneye.

Although Looma were restricted to scoring behinds for the quarter and a late goal from Saints’ Helen Ockerby gave them a scare, the Lady Eagles held on to edge out the Saints by just three points.

As the Saints’ 2019 campaign comes to an end, the Looma Lady Eagles will go on to face off against the Derby Tigers in the preliminary final.