Texas High's girls never trailed Hallsville on Tuesday at the Tiger Center, but that doesn't mean the Lady Tigers' 59-52 win wasn't dramatic.
The Tigers (12-11, 4-3) have struggled all season with consistency, and it was no different against the Lady Cats in Tuesday's District 16-5A encounter.
THS led by 16 points with 3:08 left in the third quarter.
The lead disappeared quickly after Hallsville (19-10, 2-5) started the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run, eventually tying the game at 52-52 on a layup by Hannah Brown with 2:34 left.
"We turned the ball over and took some quick shots that allowed them to get back in the game," THS coach Craig Collvins said. "We were trying to run numbers at them as fast as we could and wear them down. We knew they were only going to play seven kids at the most.
"I hated the spell where they caught up, we kept the game in suspense. I've got to give us credit, we stepped up in the end. We hit the offensive boards at the end which was huge. It got us to the free throw line and we made some for the first time in the game."
Sophomore Antonia Porter put Texas High back on top with a short jumper at the two-minute mark. The Tigers' defense and only five free throws of the game followed to keep THS in fourth place, only a half game back of Pine Tree.
Five different Tigers scored early in the third quarter as they built a 44-28 lead.
Willis, Kiaryia Morrison and Porter all hit treys during that surge. Texas High finished with eight 3-pointers in the game, including three by Blaire Bledsoe.
Porter led Texas High's offense with 14 points, with Willis contributing 12. Mia Wilson led the Tigers' with eight rebounds.
Hallsville dominated the glass, 53-45. Maddison Ford, Ambreauna Sneed and Brown had 11 rebounds each for the Lady Cats. Addison McDermott led all scorers with 20 points.
A trey by Mia Wilson 14 seconds into the game put Texas High on top.
Vicki Willis rebounded and scored underneath with 4:28 left in the first quarter to put the Tigers up, 10-5.
Hallsville would battle back to tie the score three times before THS went on a 15-0 run to build a 31-16 lead with 3:19 left in the half.
However, those were the last points the Tigers would score in the half, and the Lady Cats poured in eight straight to make it 31-24 at intermission.
Willis led the Tigers' first half performance with seven points, with Bledsoe added six on two treys. Maranda Miller came off the bench to pull down five rebounds. Hallsville outrebounded the Tigers 24-22 in the first two quarters.
Texas High travels to Pine Tree Friday, where a win could move them into third place.
In preliminary action Texas High's junior varsity beat the Lady Cats, 44-38. Kerrighan Dunn led the winners with 13 points and Sedaya Finley added 10. Katoria Jackson scored 12 for Hallsville.
Hallsville 14 10 9 19 - 52
Texas High 16 15 15 13 - 59
HALLSVILLE (52): Silmon 1 0-0 2, Taylor 1 2-5 5, McDermott 8 4-5 20, Poteet 2 0-0 6, Sneed 2 0-0 4, Ford 4 1-4 9, Brown 3 0-0 6, TOTALS 21 7-14 52.
THS (59): Willis 5 0-2 12, Porter 5 3-5 14, McBride 2 0-0 4, Rone 3 0-0 6, Wilson 1 0-0 3, Morrison 3 2-4 9, Bledsoe 3 0-0 9, Lloyd 1 0-2 2, Miller 0 0-1 0, TOTALS 23 5-14 59.
3-point goals: Hallsville, Taylor, Poteet 2. THS, Willis 2, Porter, Wilson, Morrison, Bledsoe 3. Team Fouls: Hallsville 19, Texas High 14.