by JASON GORDON

Hays’ Angeleigh Davis led the Lady Rebs with 16 points but it wasn’t enough to keep her team from falling 66-63 in double-overtime against Huntsville in the regional quarterfinals. (Photo by Rudy Gonzalez)

After finding a way to win nearly every postseason game they played over the last two seasons, the Hays girls basketball team finally ran out of playoff magic last Wednesday night in a double-overtime loss to Huntsville in the Class 4A Region III quarterfinals.

The Lady Hornets’ sting proved deadly in a 66-63 victory over the Lady Rebels at Brenham High School.

Hays trailed most of the game but found itself leading 48-44 with 12 seconds remaining in regulation.

That’s when Huntsville’s Karla Kizzie went strong to the basket for a lay-up. She was fouled on the play with five seconds left and missed the subsequent free throw on purpose. Ronisha Major swooped in for the offensive rebound and putback to tie the game.

“We never stopped believing,” Huntsville head coach Jay Oliphant said. “We just kept working hard. I never thought we were going to lose the game.”

In overtime, Hays (26-10) found itself trailing by two points as Kaitlyn Barnes drove the length of the floor as the clock wound down. She was fouled with two-tenths of a second remaining. She calmly swished both free throws to send the game into double overtime tied at 54.

In double-overtime, Hays was trailing 62-56 before rallying. Barnes’ steal which led to an Ashley Rankine lay-up tied the game 62-62 with a minute left.

A Barnes free throw gave the Lady Rebs a one-point lead but Breanna Fuller’s offensive rebound and lay-up and her fast-break lay-up put Huntsville ahead 66-63 with under ten seconds left.

Rankine had a good look from the left wing behind the three-point arc but her shot that would have sent the game into triple-overtime hit both sides of the rim before rattling out.

The Lady Rebels, the defending Region III champions who were looking to make a repeat trip to the state tournament in Austin, missed six of their final seven free throws in the fourth quarter and their first three in overtime.

“We just didn’t block out and we couldn’t make free throws,” Hays head coach Donny McDonald said. “It’s very disappointing because I thought we had it, but things we’re usually pretty good at we didn’t do well tonight.”

Major led Huntsville (25-7) with 22 points. Angeleigh Davis led Hays with 16 points.