At the end of regulation Thursday night, there were opposite feelings on opposite ends of the floor.
On the Fatima side, getting to overtime felt like a victory in itself.
"You feel like you're going on your ninth life," Fatima Lady Comets coach Dustin Hays said. "You get a reprieve. We had a chance to catch our breath and our confidence really rose."
On the Helias side, it was a feeling like something had slipped away.
"You feel like you could have won it, but you have to get back out there and compete again," Helias Lady Crusaders coach Doug Light said.
The ninth life was enough for the Lady Comets, who outscored the Lady Crusaders 11-5 in the extra period to take a 51-45 victory in a battle of state-ranked teams at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"This game was about heart and I think both teams showed a lot of it," Hays said.
Helias took a 34-27 advantage into the fourth quarter, but didn't score for the opening 3:40 as Fatima cut the deficit to two points.
"We just stopped making shots, it was a tough stretch for us," Light said.
A 3-pointer by Helias' Ashley Rehagen stopped the slide and made it 37-32 before a pair of free throws by Katlyn Cowell gave Helias a 39-33 lead with 2:12 remaining.
But a three-point play by Morgan Brandt cut Fatima's deficit in half. Brandt then hit two free throws with 1:28 remaining and it was 39-38.
Molly Light's free throw with 1:02 remaining pushed Helias' lead to 40-38. But it was the lone free throw the Lady Crusaders would make in the remaining time of regulation as they missed their other five attempts.
A putback by Brandt with :10 remaining tied the game at 40. Helias had a chance to regain the lead at the free-throw line with :03.9 remaining.
"You were thinking it was a great comeback, but it was going to end," Hays said.
But both attempts rolled off the rim and the game went to overtime.
Doug Light said it wasn't the misses at the line that cost the Lady Crusaders the victory.
"There were all kinds of plays that made the difference throughout the game," he said.
The teams traded the lead for the first two minutes of the four-minute extra period and a jumper by Molly Sandbothe with 1:40 remaining gave Helias a 45-44 lead.
On the ensuing possession in a scramble under its own basket, Fatima got control of the ball and kicked it out to Brandt outside the arc. Brandt, who had missed her first eight 3-point attempts, drilled her ninth to give Fatima the lead for good at 47-45.
"It's the next-shot mentality," Hays said. "You have to forget about the last one and go on to the next one."
Brandt then went 4-for-4 at the line in the final minute to seal the six-point victory.
"We were doing a good job of finding their shooters most of the time," Light said. "But there were a couple of times we didn't quite get out there and they made them."
The great end was a stark contrast to a first half that was unsightly at times. The teams combined for 28 turnovers in the first two quarters, with Fatima holding a 16-12 edge.
Hays accepted full responsibility for the Lady Comets' woes.
"The game plan was to push against their 1-2-2," Hays said. "Helias wanted to play a half-court game and I wanted to speed it up and I think we sped up too much."
The Lady Comets closed each of the quarters with what turned out to be big plays.
Helias led 9-6 as the last 10 seconds wound down in the opening period. But a steal and layup by Leah Kesel made it 9-8 with :08 left. After another steal, Brandt was fouled and she hit her first free throw to tie it.
"We let them back in it by throwing the ball around," Light said.
Brandt missed the second attempt, but Christine Brunnert got the rebound and putback as the buzzer sounded to give the Lady Comets an 11-9 lead.
"It was such a weird game," Hays said. "That was a big swing."
In the second quarter, Fatima missed its first eight shots while committing seven turnovers and making just one free throw. A three-point play by Morgan Wieberg pushed Helias' lead to 23-12 with :05 left.
The Lady Comets then rushed the ball down the court and Kesel's 3-pointer at the buzzer went off the backboard and in to make it 23-15 at intermission.
"As it turns out, those were some big points," Light said. "As soon as it left her hand, I knew it was going in."
Both teams took better care of the basketball in the the final two quarters and overtime. Fatima had just five more turnovers, while Helias had eight.
"The kids are disappointed, but this one could drive them to make themselves better," Light said. "We just missed making a couple of plays and I think it will make us work harder."
Brandt finished with a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds for Fatima (3-0, ranked No. 3 in Class 3 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association). Sammey Bunch added 11 points for Fatima, which will host School of the Osage on Monday.
Rehagen had nine points and Darcy Baird pulled down 11 rebounds to lead Helias (2-1, ranked No. 2 in Class 4 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association), which will play Monday at Battle.
"I've seen them play three times this year and it's going to be a tough one," Light said.