TEXARKANA, Texas -- Texas High clawed its way back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter but fell to El Dorado in the final seconds of Tuesday's girls basketball game at Tiger Center.
The Lady Tigers tied the game at 58 with 25 seconds left, after the Lady Cats led by 11 points just 5:12 earlier, but the visitors scored the final four points to secure a 62-58 win.
THS shot 42 percent from the field on 22-of-53 shooting. The Tigers also held the advantage in rebounds, 44-37, but committed a couple of more turnovers than El Dorado, 23-21.
The Wildcats shot 39 percent on 27-of-69 shooting.
"At the end of the day, they hit a couple of shots in the final seconds and we didn't," Texas High coach Shonda Wilson said. "We're a fairly young team; a freshman actually tied the game up for us from the foul line. They went down and scored real quick, and we missed a chance to tie from the line, once again. That's the bounce of the ball sometimes."
After a nip-and-tuck first half, the teams continued to keep pace with one another through most of the third quarter, but the Lady Cats knotted the score at 38 and that sparked a 12-4 run to close the quarter. El Dorado took a 48-42 advantage into the final period.
That was quickly an 8-point lead and 11 points at 54-43 with just 5:37 remaining to play.
Texas High scored three baskets in 50 seconds, and after a pair of El Dorado scores, the Tigers scored seven points in 45 seconds to get the score to 58-56.
Ke'Aria Antwine's pair of free throws with 25 seconds left tied the game.
Braveon Hunt had 14 points and Delana Augustus added 13 for THS. Jalyn Golette had 10 points, and Emma Prince scored eight and pulled down 10 boards.
"I am proud of their efforts to fight and come back from the deficit," Wilson said. "We've got five or six new varsity players, and so experience plays a factor. We'll learn from this and move forward."
Charalyn Rester And Carshaila Rozier each had 16 points for El Dorado, and Rozier added 12 rebounds.
Texas High's offense went quiet for 4:05 during the second quarter, enabling the Lady Cats to go on an 8-0 run to climb from four points behind to four points ahead (22-18) with 1:24 left before intermission.
Golette scored three consecutive baskets for the Tigers to regain the lead, and a late putback by El Dorado tied the score headed into the locker rooms.
During the first quarter neither team held more than a 3-point lead, and the Wildcats held a 14-13 advantage at the first break.
Texas High won the junior varsity game, 31-28, with Brooklyn Threadgill and Taylor Whitaker each scoring nine points.