The Southside Lady Panthers were defeated 47-44 in the final seconds of a close basketball game against the Calhoun Lady Tigers on Thursday night.

Southside had a 44-43 lead with less than 30 seconds left in the game.

As time was running out, Calhoun girls coach Eddie Howard shouted for his girls to foul, but they couldn’t hear him over the crowd.

But with 13 seconds left, the Lady Tigers managed to steal the ball and Terelesa McCray made the layup to give her team a 45-44 lead.

“We were going to press [Southside] at the end, and if we didn’t get the steal then we were going to foul,” Howard said. “McCray was able to get the steal and made the layup.”

The Lady Panthers had one last opportunity to push the ball up the floor, but another turnover spoiled the teams’ chances and they were forced to foul. Calhoun’s Toni Young made the final two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to seal the game.

“We were trying to hold the ball until the end and run the clock, but honestly we haven’t been in that situation much this year and it showed right there,” Lady Panthers head coach Rand Smith said.

Southside was in control for the majority of the game before the win slipped away. Christina Watts scored 14 points in the game, and Kylan Brown led the team with 18 points.

In the first half, Watts made two 3-pointers and Brown already had 10 points in the game. At halftime, the team had a 22-19 lead over the Lady Tigers.

“Kylan, Christina and Destiny Davis did a good job leading us offensively,” Smith said.

Both teams scored 11 points in the third quarter, but Southside struggled to play keep away long enough to hold back the Lady Tigers.

Calhoun had three girls score in double-digits. Amber Smith led the Lady Tigers with 15 points, while McCray and Toni Young scored 12 and 10 respectively.

Calhoun outscored the Lady Panthers 17-11 in the final quarter, which was just enough to earn the win as time ran out.

“It came down to the end,” Smith said. “They got a little momentum, and we couldn’t score with them.”

After the game, the two seniors on the Lady Panthers, Nadiyah Blocton and Kamyra Glover, were recognized for Southside’s Senior Night.

“I told them for awhile now, that I hope the seniors can come back next year and be proud of the foundation they’ve laid,” Smith said. “And I’m hoping the younger ones will take into that, because sometimes it takes awhile to start from the bottom and work our way up into something that’s nice.”