SHANIA McKinnon’s dominant all-round performance powered Mildura East to a maiden Sunraysia Cricket Association Premier Women’s title at Brian Weightman Oval on Friday night.
A hapless Merbein XI was unable to withstand McKinnon’s brilliance with both bat and ball.
The former Mildura Settlers player took 4/4 to help dismiss Merbein for just 48 off 16 overs, as captain Tara Martin top-scored for the visitors with 13.
East polished off the winning runs in the 10th over with just one wicket down as McKinnon showed she’s as equally adept with bat in hand, making 29 not out.
It took her season average to an incredible 302.
In 10 innings, she made 302 and was not out or retired not out on nine occasions.
The other star for East on Friday night was Sonia Drew, who snared 3/5 and made 12 not out with the bat.
Alex Pallot (2/2) was another solid contributor for East, who had not met Merbein during the season due to weather-affected draws.
East skipper Caitlin Finch was thrilled with her trail-blazing team after the title triumph.
“It’s pretty unreal how it finished up. Just like the semi-final (against Gol Gol), everything clicked for us,” she said.
“Wicket after wicket kept falling quickly and our early momentum just kept going.
“Both Shania and Sonia were great, but the whole team has played well over the course of the season.
“I couldn’t be prouder of all the girls.”
Finch didn’t bat on Friday night, but she had a superb season at the crease.
In nine innings, she made 167 runs and was only dismissed twice, leaving her with an impressive average of 83.5.
