Having been beaten by the Cats in the Goulburn Murray Cricket decider last season, the Lakers have made it two from two since, claiming a four-wicket win on Sunday at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve to move well clear at the top of the ladder.
Asked to bowl after losing the toss, Nagambie was economic from the first ball, conceding just three runs from the first two overs before Breanna Davison broke through to reduce the home side to 1-5 in the third.
Kait Carracher (2-24) joined the act in the seventh over, snaring a wicket with her first ball of the afternoon, before following up in her next over with another scalp to reduce the Cats to 3-41 after nine overs.
While Mooroopna added 20 runs in the next two overs, Shepherd (2-10) was brought on to bowl and immediately stifled the Cats’ momentum, bowling a maiden with her first over to see the home side slump to 4-61, which soon became 5-79 in her next over as she struck again.
Shelley Houston (1-7) and Davison (2-10) each picked up a wicket in the final overs of Mooroopna’s innings, as Nagambie continued to blanket the Cats, restricting them to 7-105 after 20 overs.
With 106 needed for victory, the Lakers got off to a slow start in the chase, putting just six runs on the board before opener Amber Langham (3) was removed, while her replacement in Carracher was back in the sheds exactly two overs later as Nagambie slumped to 2-8.
Davison joined Shepherd in the middle and the pair added 33 in just four overs before Davison (9) was caught, leaving Nagambie at 3-41, which was soon 4-47 as Madison Albers was run out for a diamond duck four balls later and new batter Shelley Houston was bowled for a second-ball duck shortly after, as the Lakers were left teetering at 5-49.
Kelsey Abbott strode out to meet Shepherd in the middle and the pair began blasting the way towards the win, needing just 6.2 overs to establish a 54-run stand, before Abbott cruelly fell for 29, just three runs shy of victory.
But it was fitting that Shepherd sealed the win with a boundary, blasting a four off the first ball of the 18th over to confirm the result, also bringing her to an unbeaten 56 off 42 deliveries while carrying both her bat and her side to victory.
The win ensures Nagambie strengthens its grip on top spot, with three wins and split points from a washout seeing the Lakers move a game clear of Shepparton Youth Club United, a gap which could widen even further when the two sides face off this Sunday at Princess Park in round five.
