Stunned disbelief.
That’s probably the best way to describe how the Boerne girls basketball team felt after Saturday’s Region IV-4A championship game in Kingsville with a trip to the state tournament on the line.
Boerne had a comfortable 15-point lead late in the third quarter and was up by 14 points with four minutes remaining in the contest, but Fredericksburg mounted an improbable comeback and won the game with a steal and a layup at the buzzer to rock the Lady Hounds, 47-46.
The Battlin’ Billies advance to the state tournament and dash Boerne’s hopes for a second straight trip to the state semis.
It’s payback for a Fredericksburg team that suffered the same fate last year when Boerne rallied to beat them in the regional finals.
The Lady Hounds looked like they were well on their way to another regional title but the Battlin’ Billies outscored them, 22-7, in the final 4:10.
Boerne’s biggest lead of the fourth came when Jordyn Lemm put BHS up 39-25 but a 5-0 run by Fred thanks to a 3, followed by a steal and a 2-point bucket cut it to single digits at 39-30 with 3:55 left.
Jamie Ruede and Abby Smith scored a couple of baskets for Boerne, but Fred hit another 3 and it was a 10-point lead for the Lady Hounds at 43-33 with 3:00 left.
From there, the Battlin’ Billies scored 6 points in 10 seconds and they had trimmed the lead to 43-39 with 2:35 on the clock. They used a basket, two made free throws, followed by a steal and two more free throws during the 6-0 run.
One of the fouls Boerne picked up during the 6-0 spurt by Fred was on Averi Aaron, Boerne’s leading scorer and rebounder. It was Aaron’s fifth foul so she had to leave and without her in the game, the Battlin’ Billies completed the comeback.
Boerne was still up by four but Fred started fouling to stop the clock and make Boerne win it at the line.
Hannah Rocchio made 1 of 2 free throws and the BHS lead was five at
44-39 with 1:56 left.
The Battlin’ Billies nailed back-to-back 3s, the second coming with 40 seconds remaining to give Fred its first lead of the game at 45-44.
Jamie Ruede was fouled with 35 seconds and connected on both free throws and Boerne was up 46-45 with 35 seconds.
After a turnover by the Battlin’ Billies, Fred fouled but Boerne missed both free throws with 20 ticks on the clock.
The Lady Hounds struggled at the line down the stretch and went 3 for 7 in the final two minutes. They also didn’t hit a 3-pointer all game.
Still, Boerne had a one-point lead with 16 seconds left. After a timeout, Fred set up a play but the shot missed. BHS grabbed the rebound and a pass that was intended for Ruede was knocked loose by Ella Hartman and rolled to Lauren Danz who picked up the ball under the Fred basket and laid it in right before the buzzer to send the Battlin’ Billies to the state tournament and break Boerne’s heart.
Fredericksburg made five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and outscored Boerne in the period, 27-13.
It was the final game for five Boerne seniors who helped lead the team to a record of 34-5 this year. Seniors are Leila Johnson, Jordyn Lemm, Sarah Adamek, Karson Kurtz and Hannah Rocchio.
Aaron led BHS with 20 points, Ruede added 14, Lemm had 6, Smith scored 4 and Liz Fox had 2.
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