Down by one goal with seven seconds left on the clock, Columba wing attack Millie Mackenzie fired in a long ball to goal shoot Lucy Morrison who made sure of it under the post.
That tied their playoff game 30-30 against Epsom Girls’ at the end of regular time in Christchurch.
Nothing could separate the two at the end of extra time either, with the score locked at 33-33 and the first team who went up by two would win.
It was Epsom Girls’ who broke the deadlock and in the end won 35-33 to finish ninth.
Columba fought the entire way and finished 10th after a long week of competition.
St Hilda’s Collegiate finished 14th after a narrow 31-28 loss to Scots College in their play-off game.
The Dunedin school trailed 8-7 at the first break and came back to take the lead and held a 14-13 advantage at halftime.
They continued on to be up by three at the end of the third quarter, but Scots mounted their comeback in the final quarter to win.
Defending champions Avondale College were dethroned by Howick College 35-34 in the final.
It was a tight tussle between the Auckland neighbours, but Howick had the slight edge.
They led 10-8 at the first quarter, 17-16 at halftime and 28-26 at the end of the third to hold the advantage throughout the game.
It is Howick’s first national title since 2017.
