An overtime win for Dawson County at home against Jefferson had all the feels of a playoff game. The #6 Lady Tigers got a last-second bucket by Morgan Chester to take a 58-56 win against #5 Jefferson, who came in with 8 straight wins. Dawson snapped a 3-game losing streak with the win.

It was a low-scoring first half, with neither team scoring until midway through the first. Dawson County (9-6; 2-1 in 7-AAA) got going with a Kindra Coker 3-pointer, though Jefferson was ahead 9-7 after one. In the second, Skyler Brady got hot for the Lady Dragons (14-3; 4-0 in 8-AAAAA) with a pair of shots from deep. That had her team up 16-8, and both teams traded buckets the rest of the half leading to a 26-18 Jefferson lead.

The third is when things really picked up. Eva Bishop racked up a couple of quick field goals to pull Dawson within three, and Anna Ayers had a 3-point play opportunity. Moments later, Abby Slaton drilled a triple to push the Lady Tigers out in front. Brady responded with her own trifecta, and even though Chester had two go-ahead shots late in the quarter, Jefferson held a slim 36-33 lead heading into the final stanza.

In the fourth, Brady connected again twice from beyond the arc, as two of her 6 3-pointers stripped the net. Dawson County wouldn’t go easily. Bishop and Slaton got it back to within a single possession, and the former tied it up with a layup. On the other end, Michel Robbins hit a dagger 3-pointer with under a minute left, and Dawson was down two with 13.9 seconds on the clock.

The inbound play on their end worked to perfection, as a lob pass over the top to Bishop resulted in a tied game at 49 apiece with 9 seconds left on the clock. Brady’s midcourt heave at the buzzer just missed, sending the game to overtime. Karlee Law had a bucket and went to the line on an electrifying drive to the hoop. Bishop then hit a long-range jumper, and seconds later hit on a couple of free throws to put Dawson up 55-53.

Down one moments later, Jefferson turned to Law again. Her layup gave the Lady Dragons a 56-55 lead with 16 seconds left. Maddie Siuta hit the front end of two shots from the charity stripe, but the Lady Tigers got the ball on the miss. Tied up and with the ball, Dawson went to Chester, who made a move in the paint and banked in a shot for the win (as well as collecting a foul). The buzzer sounded with a 58-56 win for the Lady Tigers.

Bishop finished with 21 points, including 16 in the second half for Dawson County. Slaton had 12 points, Chester 10, Siuta 8, Ayers 4, and Coker 3. Jefferson was paced by Brady, who had 20 points on 6 3-pointers. She was followed by Robbins with 13, Delaney Dewitt with 10, and 8 for Law. Audrey Johnson had 3 and Anni Aldridge 2 to round out the scoring.