NASHVILLE -- The third time wasn't the charm for the Baylor Lady Red Raiders.
Facing the Brentwood Academy Lady Eagles in the semifinals of the D-II Class AA girls state basketball tournament at Lipscomb University, Baylor came up short for the third time this season against the Lady Eagles by a 69-61 final score.
It was a see-saw affair with seven ties and 13 lead changes, but the Lady Eagles got two free throws from Sydni Harvey at the 5:50 mark of the fourth quarter to knot the score at 48-48 before Bria Dial's bucket at the 5:16 mark gave the winners the lead for good.
Baylor's biggest lead of six points came early in the first quarter at 9-3 following a layup by Mia Long, but the Lady Eagles rebounded for a 17-15 lead when the quarter ended. The difference was 35-32 at intermission.
Baylor pulled ahead by 45-43 when the third quarter ended, but the Lady Eagles came on strong at the end and outscored the Lady Raiders by a 26-16 margin in the final eight minutes to pull out the win.
"We played extremely hard and shot the ball well, but we just didn't make enough plays and they did," said Baylor coach John Gibson by phone after the game ended.
"Give Brentwood Academy a lot of credit as they answered the bell in the fourth quarter, but that's just one of those things. We hung around in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough. We did a great job, but we couldn't guard the free throw shooters.
"We had a great season and I'm really proud of these young ladies," Gibson said, his team ending the year at 19-10.
Perhaps the biggest difference in the game came at the free throw line where Brentwood Academy was deadly, sinking 11 of 12 in the first half and 30 of 34 for the game. Baylor made six of eight for the game.
Abby Hubert scored 16 points to lead four Baylor girls in double figures while teammates JuToreyia Willis and Long both finished with 12. Kaleigh Clemons added 10.
Harvey was tops for Brentwood Academy -- now 30-1 -- with 25 points while Breuna Jackson was next with 21. Dial added 14 for the winners.
BRENTWOOD ACADEMY 15 20 8 26 -- 69
BAYLOR 17 15 13 16 -- 61
BRENTWOOD ACADEMY (69) -- Dial 14, Hall 3, Harvey 25, Stephens 2, Jackson 21, Stockhoff, Wilson 4, McAvoy, Billington, Barnhill, Daniell.
BAYLOR (61) -- Hubert 16, Long 12, Clemons 10, Huckabay 8, Popp, Willis 12, Lindsey, Hayes, Wardeberg, Parker, Rich 3.
3-POINT GOALS: Brentwood Academy 5-14 (Harvey 3-5, Stephens 0-3, Jackson 2-5, McAvoy 0-1); Baylor 11-24 (Hubert 1-2, Long 2-3, Clemons 1-7, Huckabay 2-3, Willis 4-6, Parker 0-1, Rich 1-2).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@Comcast.net)