The equation was simple for the Lady Hornets entering the weekend - win their final two games of the South West Women season or miss out on playing finals.

Geelong United, their opponent Saturday night at the Horsham Basketball Stadium, faced a similar proposition, and from the first tip-off, it was clear the two sides were similarly matched.

Despite being down to just two players on the bench due to player unavailability, the Hornets earned the first considerable lead of the match, 25-16 early in the second term.

But a young Geelong side showed they wouldn't be overawed by the situation, going on an 11-0 run to reclaim a one-point lead.

Geelong's six-foot-two centre Carly Vuillermin was causing problems with her rebounding at both ends of the court.

Lady Hornets coach Tony Sleep praised his two undersized forwards for limiting Vuillermin's influence later in the game.

"The girls they really dug deep when they needed to," Sleep said.

"I can't sing the praises of Faith McKenzie and Caitlin Story enough. They were undersized, but they played their absolute tails off."

Georgia Hiscock hit a momentum-changing three-pointer in the second quarter to stop the run, her first of four threes for the game.

The ball was running through McKenzie and Story inside, causing Geelong's defence to collapse on the paint and creating good looks for the Lady Hornets from three-point territory.

Hiscock was the main benefactor, pouring in a season-high 27 points for the contest with a remarkable display of sharp shooting.

"Georgia had a great shooting night," Sleep said.

"I probably indicated in the preview that she was probably due, and she played a great game."

It helped the Lady Hornets eek out to a 10-point lead by half-time, and despite some energetic defence from Geelong, the match never truly looked in doubt from there. The final score was 75-53.

The girls then dug-deep to back it up the next day with a hard-fought, 11-point victory against Colac to secure a finals berth.

"Saturday's game was probably the game of the season," Sleep said. "Any side that can play like that is going to put themselves in to a great position to win it all.

"I'm looking forward to finals and I know the girls are really pumped."

The Horsham Hornets also had a close-call on Sunday, taking on a Colac side desperate for victory.

Colac needed a win to secure a finals place and fought their way to as much as a nine-point lead in the third quarter.

It was a physical game, with Colac running the ball through their talented big men in the post.

Jordan Lingard, Nathan Lemke, and Steven Packer all made life difficult for Hornets Austin McKenzie and Damien Skurrie on the defensive end.

It was a particularly commendable effort from McKenzie who - alongside teammate Sam Breuer - had just played an intense week of basketball at the Australian Junior Basketball Country Cup.

But McKenzie defended resolutely and the Hornets followed suit, stifling Colac in the third quarter to spark a 10 - 1 run

With two minutes left in the third term, Tim Pickert finished a three-point play in transition to give the Hornets their first lead since the first quarter.

The Hornets continued to build a lead and Mitch Martin proved to be the star of the show in the final quarter.

Martin played tenacious defence all afternoon and was rewarded on the offensive end in the final term, hitting back-to-back threes to extend the lead to an insurmountable 15 points.

Martin finished with a team-high 19 for the afternoon as the Hornets claimed a 99-87 victory.

The Hornets will now play long-time rivals Mount Gambier in the first final on Saturday, February 1.

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox twice weekly from the Wimmera Mail-Times. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Wimmera, sign up below.