A determined Colac side made the Lady Hornets work hard for the victory at Horsham Basketball Stadium.

The Kookas lead for the entire first half and for much of the third term as they put on an outstanding display.

But they could not hold back the tide of the Lady Hornets pressure and hard running, leaving them stunned as they were overrun late in the game.

The spark came from Ema Iredell who scored twice in the middle of the third term as her team worked back into the game.

At their worst they trailed 28-17 but Iredell was on fire under the ring as she drove to the basket and opened up holes in the Kookas’ defence.

Her hard work was then backed by a three quarter time buzzer beater from guard Aily McAuliffe.

With 0.9 seconds left on the clock the Lady Hornets threw the ball to McAuliffe who had just enough time to throw up a hopeful three pointer.

The shot landed and the Lady Hornets went into the final break just five points down, but with the momentum.

This soon became clear as they stormed home in the final term, outscoring the Kookas 29 to 17.

Iredell was under the ring for every shot, finding holes and easy baskets.

The tall forward would take out the MVP award for the match thanks to her 21 points.

Ella Bibby also rebounded strongly and put shots in, exploiting the lack of height the Kookas had under the ring.

She was one of the most important players for the Lady Hornets earlier in the game.

While her teammates were struggling to have an impact Bibby was prolific.

She scored the opening six points for the Lady Hornets to keep them in the game while the Kookas dominated.

Kookas’ guard Georgia Varley was on fire and finding easy baskets, as was her teammate Lauren Bellegante.

But as the Lady Hornets tightened their defence and began to make steals in the front court their scoring opportunities dried up.

Tenacious defenders Georgia and Ally Hiscock put intense pressure on the Kookas ball carriers, creating turnovers.

Both Hiscock’s would find themselves in foul trouble, but as they were subbed out, the depth of the Lady Hornets allowed them to continue their run.

For early parts of the final term the Lady Hornets looked unbeatable as they ran riot against the Kookas.

Colac was able to rally and pegged the margin back to two points.

The Lady Hornets were then further tested when their two top scorers, Ella Bibby and Ema Iredell were fouled out in quick succession.

Iredell however didn’t waste her opportunities, nailing four points from the foul line before she picked up her fifth foul.

The Lady Hornets finally had some breathing space while the Kookas were in some heavy foul trouble.

With the two top scorers gone it brought Brack and Ally Hiscock back into the game.

Brack found the basket twice and with only a minute left the Kookas needed to find some baskets.

The Lady Hornets went to the line three times for five points, with McAuliffe, Sharon Fedke and finally Brack extending the lead to seven.

It sealed the win the Lady Hornets had fought for all season as one of the top sides in the Country Basketball League.

Along with Bibby’s 20 and Iredell 21 points, McAuliffe added 11.

The spread of scoring for the Lady Hornets showed out they were able to outgun their opponents.

Fedke scored six, Brack nine and Georgia and Ally Hiscock bagged four each.

Maddie Iredell chipped in with one point while Jedda Heard and Shannon Reinheimer were the only two Lady Hornets held scoreless.