WESTPHALIA, Mo. - It was a game where the finish didn't exactly please either team, but it sure made for an entertaining stretch run.
The Helias Lady Crusaders wasted a big lead and had to rally to capture a win Thursday night, while the Fatima Comets made a huge run before seeing it fall just short.
When it was all over and done with, the Lady Crusaders emerged with a 47-43 victory to improve to 4-0 on the season.
"You always learn from games, and I learned we've got to work on our focus," Helias head coach Sarah Eagan said. "I don't know if that it's we're getting tired at the end of the game - we did the same kind of thing at Osage - so maybe we need to sub more. We just lost a little focus toward the end."
Helias appeared to have the game in hand when it went up 31-17 a little more than two minutes into the second half, but by the time there was 1:49 left in the fourth quarter, the Lady Crusaders were down by 43-42. Still, they were able to regroup and scored the game's final four points.
During that 26-11 run for Fatima, head coach Matt Baker said the Lady Comets finally got comfortable with their ability to make things happen.
"We played like we were young (in the early stages) and maybe shouldn't beat Helias," he said. "As soon as they realized that they had a chance, they got after it."
The game was even during the first quarter - it ended with Helias ahead 12-9 - but the Lady Crusaders stretched the lead to 25-14 by halftime.
In the first half, Fatima made just 6-of-22 shots (27 percent) and grabbed just one offensive rebound.
"We've got to live on the offensive glass," Baker said. "(Leading scorer) Sammey (Bunch) is going to throw up some shots that are 50-50, so there's going to be chances for 10 offensive rebounds just off of her shots, so go get them."
After Fatima got the first points of the second half on a 3-pointer by Bunch, Helias took its biggest lead thanks to a 6-0 run on two free throws by Mai Nienhueser and back-to-back layups by Olivia Johanns.
That's when Fatima started its big comeback, with Helias turning the ball over 11 times in its next 15 possessions.
"Offensively, we needed to look to run clock a little bit more," Eagan said. "We got the rebound and we wanted to force it up, and that was the time we needed to use the clock."
Fatima eventually took its only lead of the contest when Bunch hit a pair of free throws - her 27th and 28th points of the night - with 1:49 left.
"She does a really nice job of mixing it up on offense," Baker said. "Some games it's all 3s, but tonight she kept them off-balance by driving."
Bunch went 9-of-22 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line while leading all scorers.
"We had a goal to hold Sammey to 12 points, so we didn't make that, but she's a heck of a player and I thought we did a decent job on her," Eagan said. "She can drive, she can come off any type of screen and hit the shot right away."
On Helias' ensuing possession, the Lady Crusaders got the lead back for good when Morgan Wieberg drilled a baseline jumper. After Fatima missed a good look at a 3 with 45 seconds left, Helias was able to run some time off before getting fouled with 24 seconds left, and Luci Francka helped salt away the win by hitting a pair of free throws.
After another missed 3 by Fatima, Nienhueser hit 1-of-2 free throws for the final margin.
Nienhueser led the Lady Crusaders with 12 points, while Johanns had 10 and Lauren Alexander added nine.
Both teams play again Monday, with Helias (4-0) hosting Battle and Fatima (2-3) playing at Blair Oaks.