Lavington finish strong to defeat North Albury 57-41

The Hoppers started the final quarter trailing by eight goals and they reduced the margin to six at one stage before the home side kicked away.

It finished 57-41 to the Panthers at Lavington Sports Ground, with Christine Oguche shooting 42 goals and Liv Sanson netting 14.

"I was really pleased with the girls," Lavington coach Linda Charlton said.

"We didn't start well against Yarrawonga (last week) so that was a real focus for us and we had a much better start today.

"We brought on Kate Mastronardi, from B-grade, in goal-keeper and she played really well so it was nice to get some A-grade time into her as well.

"North Albury fought really hard.

"They're a young side but they're very quick and move the ball well.

"They did come out really hard in that fourth quarter but we spoke, after the game, about how we controlled the momentum by playing possession.

"It was a really mature game from us today."

Steph Clancy shone in wing-defence for the Panthers, getting plenty of the ball, and Tayla Furborough produced some great rejections as goal-defence.

In centre, Ange DeMamiel relished her battle with Hoppers coach Emily Browne and produced a strong game.

North Albury's goals were shared between Sophia Kohlhagen (21) and Lily Kelly (20), with Madison Lieschke and Maddie Pearson both catching the eye.

Lavington are up to fourth, a week after they ran the Pigeons close at Yarrawonga.

"We did take a lot of confidence from that," Charlton said.

"It's still a loss so there's still a lot to work on but to have that 20-goal last quarter against a side like Yarra does show that we can do it and we can match it.

"We just need to do it for 60 minutes."

Elsewhere on Saturday, the Pigeons claimed a hugely impressive 53-32 win away to Myrtleford, where Ovens and Murray rep Maddy Allan shone with 25 goals.

There was a terrific tussle between Wodonga Raiders and Wangaratta at Birallee Park, the visitors eventually getting home 36-31.

Raiders led by a goal at half-time but the Magpies had their noses in front by three at the final break and were able to hold on.

Georgia Clark shot 23 of Wangaratta's goals, while youngster Eliza Mooney had a superb game for Raiders alongside Australian squad member Mia Lavis.

Gabe McRae, coach Skye Hillier and Niamh Thorn starred in Albury's 74-38 win over Wangaratta Rovers, with Lillie Howe sinking 46 goals for the Tigers.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: