Sulphur Springs turned around the game in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Wildcats were limited to 31 points through three quarters by Texas High, which held a 14-point lead entering the final period. However, Sulphur Springs shot 71 percent from the floor in the fourth, drained seven 3-pointers in a 5:57 span and scored 37 points over the final eight minutes to survive THS, 68-63, on Tuesday at Tiger Center.
The Lady Tigers (15-10, 5-5) were up eight at halftime (32-24) and 14 points after the third quarter. They shot 36 percent from the field, hitting on 21 of 58 shots. THS totaled 10 3-pointers.
Sulphur Springs (21-6, 8-2) finished with a 45 field goal percentage on 24 of 53 from the floor. The Wildcats held a slim 38-34 advantage on the glass, and both teams committed 20 turnovers.
"I can't ask our kids to play any harder," Texas High coach Robert Cochran said. "Our whole game plan was centered around No. 13 (Kaylee Jefferson), keeping them off the boards, and making someone other than Jefferson beat us. We had a big enough lead that we could afford for them to make some shots, but they got rolling and we didn't do a good job late.
"When it got under seven, we tried to match up with them and didn't do a good job with that; that's not our kids' fault. They played as hard as they could've played. When you have a 14-point lead, that's a coach's job to find a way to win."
Texas High was down 13-11 when it scored the final three points of the first quarter to take the lead. After opening the second period on a 5-point streak, the Tigers were up 19-13.
With 2:42 left in the half, Treyaunna Rush made a pair of free throws for the Tigers, Vicki Willis hit a trey, and Antonia Porter drained a 3-pointer to go ahead 32-21. Porter scored 11 of her game-high 22 points in the second quarter.
Tori Moore converted a conventional 3-point play for the Wildcats to cut their deficit to eight at intermission.
Three consecutive baskets, including a putback and free throw by Kaitlyn Cross, by Texas High after the break made it a 15-point game. Over the next 5:30 Sulphur Springs was only able to trim one point off the lead.
"You have to give credit to Sulphur because they made some shots," Cochran said. "I know we made a lot of threes, but they had some kids step up and hit some shots when they needed them. When a team gets started, it's difficult to get them off the roll. We've got to find a way to make one more shot at the end.
"It was a tremendous effort by our kids, and I'm proud of that."
Following trading baskets, Moore hit a pair of threes for Sulphur Springs, and Mia Wilson hit a trey at the other end to make it 50-39. Willis also had a 3-pointer, sandwiched between another Moore three and one for Daieyshia Pruitt for SS. Grace Brooks hit a jumper in the lane for the Tigers, and the Wildcats answered with a layup. Wilson hit another from behind the arc, and Pruitt made it eight again with her 3-pointer, followed by Jefferson's layup.
Porter hit a 3-pointer for the Tigers with 3:24 left, and Pruitt's three started a 12-0 streak by the Wildcats to go ahead for good.
Moore and Jefferson scored 16 each for the Wildcats, and Pruitt had 15-13 in the fourth. Moore made four threes in the final stanza.
To go along with Porter's 22 points, Brooks had 13 points for the Tigers, and Wilson 11. Takeba Dowden pulled down nine rebounds, matching Jefferson who led Sulphur Springs.
In the junior varsity game, Texas High won 45-30, with Brittany Kile scoring 12 points and Maranda Miller nine for the Tigers. Danielle Godbolt led the Wildcats with nine.
Sulphur Springs 13 11 7 37 - 68
Texas High 14 18 13 18 - 63
SS (68): Porter 2 0-0 4, T. Moore 5 2-3 16, Pruitt 5 2-2 15, L. Moore 3 3-3 9, Jefferson 5 6-9 16, Tanton 2 0-0 4, Weeks 2 0-0 4, TOTALS 24 13-17 68.
THS (63): Willis 2 0-0 6, Brooks 4 5-6 13, Porter 7 3-4 22, McBride 1 0-3 2, Wilson 4 0-0 11, Cross 2 1-2 5, Rush 0 2-4 2, Briggs 1 0-0 2, TOTALS 21 11-19 63.
3-point goals: SS-T. Moore 4, Pruitt 3; THS-Porter 5, Wilson 3, Willis 2. Team fouls: Sulphur Springs 15, Texas High 15. Technical foul: L. Moore.