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The Huntland High School Lady Hornets lost to the Wayne County Lady Wildcats 55-52 in overtime at Cornersville Wednesday in the Region 5A championship game.

The Lady Hornets gave the undefeated Lady Wildcats one of their toughest games of the season with the teams deadlocked after four quarters, but Huntland’s upset bid came up short in an extra period as the Lady Hornets finished as the runners-up for the region.

The Lady Hornets scored the first four points of the game and led for most of the opening period before the Lady Wildcats hit a tying 3-pointer with seconds remaining in the quarter.

The score was tied at 9-9 after one quarter.

The Lady Hornets quickly pulled ahead again to start the second quarter and led by as many as six points in the period before settling for a five-point advantage at halftime. Logan McLennan scored eight of Huntland’s 13 points in the second quarter.

They led 22-17 at halftime.

The Lady Hornets brought their lead up to double digits at two separate points in the third quarter, but the Wildcats responded with a 12-2 run to tie the score at 31-31 with less than a minute remaining in the period.

Jocy May sank a shot with about 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter to put the Lady Hornets back in front, but the Lady Wildcats came right back down the court and hit a 3-pointer just before the end of the period to put the Lady Hornets behind for the first time in the game.

The Lady Hornets trailed 34-33 going into the final period. May scored seven of Huntland’s 11 points in the third quarter.

The teams traded the lead five times to start the fourth quarter with the score ending up tied at 40-40 with four minutes left in regulation after a pair of Wayne County free throws.

A 3-point play by Ashtyn Danley to give the Lady Hornets a 43-40 advantage was countered by five straight points from the Lady Wildcats to put the Lady Hornets behind by two with less than two minutes to go.

However, the Lady Hornets found a tying score late as May hit a close-range shot to make it a 45-45 game with about 1:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Wildcats elected to hold onto the ball for the last minute of regulation, but Huntland’s defense didn’t allow a shot to fall at the buzzer as the game went into overtime tied at 45-45.

A basket by the Lady Wildcats to start the scoring in overtime was countered by a layup from McLennan to tie the score up once again, but the Lady Wildcats recorded a 3-point play moments later to take their largest lead of the game at three points with 2:50 remaining in the extra period.

After a pair of free throws by McLennan and another basket by the Lady Wildcats put the score at 52-49 with 1:05 to go, May hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to get the Lady Hornets back into the game.

The Lady Wildcats once again elected to hold onto the ball and run the clock down before going for a game-winner, and it payed off for them this time as a 3-point play with 1.5 seconds to go put the Lady Hornets down by three.

The Lady Hornets went for a long inbounds pass in the final seconds as Danley connected with McLennan just past the half-court line, but McLennan’s 3-pointer at the buzzer wouldn’t fall as they lost by three.

May led the Lady Hornets with 18 points for the game, followed by McLennan with 14 points and Yareli Avalos with 10.

Danley scored six points, Aysia Williams scored three and Morgan Sanders scored one.

Following the conclusion of the game, Avalos, May and Danley were named to the Region 5A all-tournament team.

With the loss, the Lady Hornets moved to 23-12 on the season.

They will next play Saturday against McKenzie High School at Bethel University in a sub-state game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.