MYRTLEFORD’S complete and utter domination of the North East Women CBL competition continued through Saturday’s semi-final round, with the Saints knocking Wallan out 78-64.

Coming together on the wood at Myrtleford, the Saints exploded into the match, taking an early quarter-time lead by nine points, but the Panthers fought back.

The Saints offence had more difficulty piercing Wallan’s defensive zone in the second term, but still managed to increase the margin to 11 points by the half.

Wallan could feel their grand final chances slipping away and roared back into the contest, outscoring the home side by three points to see Myrtleford enter the final term with a slim 54-46 advantage.

The Saints showed their class in the final quarter, shooting 24 points and limiting Wallan to just 18 to remain undefeated and book their place in the grand final.

Coach Kory Batt said he was impressed with how his side responded to the added pressure of playing in a final.

“You need a good start, especially in a semi, so to do that was very pleasing,” he said.

“It took us a while to get going in the first quarter, but once we got going, we were on top.

“That probably comes from nerves, there was a very big crowd out there, and the girls said after the game there was a bit of nerves out there.

“It has been a long season, considering it’s only a short season, but for us to be able to adapt, push through and grind it out and get a good win in a good game, I was really happy with the end result.”

Sisters Taylah Larkings and Jorja Reidy led the scoring with 15 points apiece, but Paige Zamperoni, Evie Hughes and Jordan Crisp were equally impactful.

Batt said the team didn’t any standout performers, but it was a strong team pulling in the same direction.

“We’ve just got a really good, even spread across the whole court - even from our bench players coming on, everyone’s playing their role,” he said.

“We don’t really have one or two big standouts who are scoring 25-30 a game, we’ve got consistency right across the floor.

“For other teams trying to match up with us, it makes it really hard - you can’t ask for much more than that.”

Myrtleford Saints will go into Saturday evening’s grand final as hot favourites over Albury Cougars on the wood at RB Robson Indoor Sports Stadium in Wallan.

In their two previous encounters, the Saints triumphed by 33 points and 14 points, but have not played each other since November 10.

“It’s going to be interesting, it’s a fair old drive down there, but both teams have to do it,” Batt said.

“We match up with them pretty well - a couple of their bigger name players were a bit flat against us, so they’re going to be a problem if they fire.

“I’ve got full trust in our girls, they’ll come out ready to go, and hopefully come away with it.

“The girls are very excited, hopefully we can continue that undefeated streak and get one more.”

Myrtleford Saints take on Albury Cougars for the North East Women CBL crown this Saturday, December 14 from 5.15pm at RB Robson Indoor Sport Stadium in Wallan.