ROLLA -- With offense at a premium, Southern Boone got the shot it needed just in time.
Chloe Bukowsky drained a 3-pointer from the left corner with :02.2 showing on the clock to give the Lady Eagles a comeback 33-31 win against the Fatima Lady Comets in the Class 4 sectional round Tuesday night at Missouri S&T’s Gibson Arena.
With the win, Southern Boone moves on to face No. 8-ranked Ava in the state quarterfinals at Southern Baptist University in Bolivar at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Fatima’s season ends with a record of 22-8.
“This is a special group,” Fatima coach Matt Baker said. “We got our first district title in (nine) years, something like that. We won 22 games against one of the best schedules in the state. We played 18 non-conference teams and 14 were ranked. All the credit goes to the kids.”
The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 27, then Fatima jumped ahead when Lucy Crede connected on a putback layup, then used a Vivian Bax assist for a floater in the lane, leaving the Lady Comets up 31-27 with 5:27 left to play.
They were the final points Fatima would score.
The Lady Comet defense held Southern Boone scoreless for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, but Kyra Massie was able to grab an offensive board, one of her five rebounds, and turned it into one of her five assists when she sent a pass to MaJayla Dudley for a right-wing 3 with 2:59 left to play, cutting Fatima’s lead to 31-30.
Both teams missed their next shot, then Southern Boone fouled for the seventh time, sending the Lady Comets to the free throw line for a 1-and-1. Fatima missed the front end, then the Lady Eagles called timeout with 31.5 seconds left.
With only two fouls to that point in the second half, the Lady Comets decided to use their remaining free fouls before the bonus to try to work the clock and keep the Lady Eagles away from good shots.
After four fouls, the Lady Eagles had the ball with 16 seconds left and worked to get their shot.
They found it when Massie dished to Bukowsky in the corner who threw the ball up while falling out of bounds for the game-winning shot.
“That late in the game with 20, 30 seconds left and we only have two fouls, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Baker said. “… It brought them down to one possession. … We forced the ball across the defense and they hit a shot falling out of bounds. That was a big-time shot.”
Fatima called timeout to create a deep in-bounds play, but Bukowsky stole the pass and ran out the clock for the win.
“It was just a battle, they played hard,” Baker said. “Offense was at a premium, I think we led most of the game but it was never much, usually one or two points. We had our chances, we had a lot of opportunities and so did they. It came down to the end and that’s tough.”
The teams went back and forth early, trading the lead for the first two times out of an eventual 13 lead changes and four ties, before Fatima was able to build as far as an 11-5 lead after an Emma Bower 3 off a Kaitlyn Plassmeyer assist, but Southern Boone hit a 3 with 22 seconds left to cut the lead to 11-8 heading into the first break.
Turnover trouble for Fatima kept the Lady Comets from scoring for more than five minutes in the second quarter, while Southern Boone went on a 6-0 run, capped by a Bukowsky steal-turned-layup, to take a 14-13 lead with 1:55 left in the half.
A Bax 3, three of her team-high 10 points, and two free throws from Alli Robertson, two of her nine points, sent Fatima into the break tied at 18. Fatima employed the same fouling strategy before halftime, keeping Southern Boone from getting a good look before the break.
Six of the game’s lead changes and two of the ties came in the third with the teams trading baskets through the first three minutes to a 25-24 Fatima lead with 4:37 left after Bower assisted a cutting Ellie Brune in the lane for a layup. Bukowsky gave the Lady Eagles a 27-25 lead with 3:11 left after a right-wing 3, three of her game-high 13 points, but Bax was able to score in transition off one of Kristen Robertson’s team-high four assists to send the teams into the final break tied at 27.
Fatima shot 12-of-38 (31.6 percent) overall, 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from 3 and 3-of-6 (50 percent) at the free-throw line. Southern Boone hit 14-of-46 (30.4 percent) from the field and 5-of-25 (20 percent) from 3. The Lady Eagles did not attempt a free throw.
“Tough way to finish,” Baker said. “(Alli Robertson) and Viv (Bax) played all 32 minutes, just two really young stars that we’re going to be glad to have back. We hate saying goodbye to the seniors, that’s the hardest part. We’re gonna miss them.”