The 50 to 29 loss means the Rats will hit the court again this Sunday against the Warrack Eagles in the preliminary final for one last chance to face the Demons again this season.

Ararat took it up to the minor premiers in the opening quarter of the match played at David Park, Nhill, with the two teams going goal-for-goal.

"We knew going in that it was going to be a tough match, but we came out nice and hard which was good," coach Rebecca Skrabl said.

"Our drive down the court into goals was really good in the first quarter which allowed us to get a score on the board."

The Demons got the early break in the second term to move slightly ahead, however the Rats were still in touch at halftime, trailing by just three goals.

Skrabl said things began to unravel for the Rats in the third quarter as Horsham turned up the pressure and piled on 14 goals to Ararat's seven.

"The first half was a really good match, we were fairly even across the court," she said.

"They were making a few mistakes and so were we, but in the third quarter it was a definite slump by us. The heat played a role and we started running out of legs.

"I don't think anything was done particularly different, it was more that we spent a lot of time chasing after them rather than playing in front like we had done in the first quarter."

The Rats struggled to regain their composure which saw the side turn in their worst performance of the season during the final term to be out scored by 11 goals.

"It was more of the same in the fourth quarter, they basically had their confidence well up by then and were home and hosed," Skrabl said.

"We just couldn't match it or keep up.

"It was a little disappointing, but at the same time I am proud of the girls for really pushing themselves.

"There are a few little injuries, but we are getting there. Even with myself, every week I am getting a little bit of that match fitness back after my calf injury."

Skrabl and Tiffany Boatman were named Ararat's top performers in the 21-goal loss.

The defenders battled hard over four quarters against the most lethal attack in the Wimmera Demons' stars Georgia Duncan and Stephanie Thomson.

"Their shooters are an absolute magic combo and when they're on, they are definitely on," Skrabl said.

"They are big strong girls and it makes it really tough in there, but I thought Tiff had an absolute boomer of a game and we combined pretty well.

"There are a couple of things that we can still work on together. They had something like 34 missed shots, so that is a lot of rebounds that we missed."

The Rats will now face the Eagles for the second time in three weeks, and should be full of confidence following their 13-goal win over Warrack in the qualifying final a fortnight ago.

"I am really confident coming into the Warrack game," Skrabl said.

"As I said we are slowly getting there and I can't wait to take them on and redeem ourselves a little bit after last week."

Ararat's 15 and under A team held its nerve and survived a late fight back from Dimboola to win through to the third week of the 2014 finals' series.

In the first quarter of Sunday's first semi final, the Rats started off slow but still managed to go goal-for-goal to keep the scoreboard level by quarter time.

Ararat lifted its work rate in the second quarter to open a six goal buffer at halftime, before turning in its weakest quarter of the day in the third term to see the margin brought back to two goals by the final change.

As the crowd fired up and tension rose in the last quarter, the Rats began to feel the pressure.

Ararat held a one goal break when the timer approached the umpire, however a Dimboola goal in the last three seconds threw the match into overtime.

The Roos scored first in extra time and looked headed for the win, until a game changing intercept from defender Larni Cain allowed the Rats to score.

This proved the turning point as the side went on to hit the scoreboard again and claim victory.

Cain was Ararat's stand out player with four consistent quarters, while Allison Lewis was acknowledged for her drive down the court throughout the nail-biting match, with her pressure over the ball causing turnovers.

Ararat will play Horsham Saints in Sunday's preliminary final, the team the Rats lost to by eight goals a fortnight ago in the qualifying final.

Ararat's 15 and under B side has one last chance to nab a grand final berth following the Rats' disappointing loss to Horsham in the second semi final.

The Rats went into the match with plenty of confidence having defeated the Demons by 18 goals in their previous encounter and while they held a three goal advantage at quarter time, Ararat began to lose its composure as the match rolled on.

Horsham outscored the Rats in the second half of the match to run out winners 33 to 29.

Lily Sewell again had a great game in attack, with the Horsham defence finding it hard to match her height which allowed her to rebound missed shots.

Indie Calvert was named the Rats' best for her hard work throughout the contest, particularly making herself available all the way down the court, while Annie Shea finished the match with 12 goals to be also named among the best.

The Rats will take on the Horsham Saints in the preliminary final on Sunday.