The two sides largely traded goals throughout the opening three quarters, with the Murray Bombers only holding a slender two-goal advantage heading into the final period.
In the fourth, after conceding four of the first five goals, Echuca rallied by scoring 12 of the next 13, a stretch that secured a sixth straight win in the competition.
Early on Bronwyn Slater’s side raced out to a 5-1 advantage before Mansfield responded to lead 9-7 after 12 minutes and in the second period each team again went on its own mini-run, Echuca leading 24-22 at half-time.
The third quarter saw the sides match each other with 11 goals, while such was the Murray Bombers’ final period dominance that they not only doubled Mansfield’s goals tally, but produced their best quarterly output with 16.
The fourth period surge between the 48th to 58th minutes produced a 51-41 win for Echuca, which had goal scoring contributions from Rose Byrne (24), Belinda Lees (17) and Sheridan Townrow (10).
Echuca still dropped a place on the ladder despite the win.
The top three sides — Euroa, Mooroopna and Echuca — have the same 10-1 record, but the Cats’ 60-goal win over Benalla meant they leaped above the Murray Bombers on percentage.
The Saints will be Echuca’s next opponent on Saturday, the two sides playing at Benalla Showgrounds.
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