Brownsboro’s LaQuesha Cooper (11) drives the lane off a pick set by Hillary Shaffer (15) during the Bearettes’ second round playoff loss to Bullard, 42-40, Friday. Loyd Cook Photo TYLER — They fought it off as hard as they could. There wasn’t an ounce of “give up” in their game.

But, in the end, the Brownsboro Bearettes couldn’t overcome a late, 13-point deficit and exited the playoffs at the short end of a 42-40 game against the Bullard Lady Panthers.

Three-point shooting by the Lady Panthers was key in the game. Bullard hit nine shots from beyond the arc, while Brownsboro recorded three, 3-pointers.

“We had our chances,” Bearettes head coach Fred Griffin said Monday. “We’re better inside than they are and we got close at the end, but didn’t get a foul called. It was close.”

It was a case of -- except for the long-distance shooting -- two similar teams playing as the Bullard defense kept Brownsboro scoring down for three quarters and the Bearettes hit their goal for holding off an opposing offense.

Bears wing Desiree Johnson (5) guards her Lorena Lady Leopard counterpart, during Brownboro’s 30-point, first round playoff win Tuesday, Feb. 16, in Corsicana. Loyd Cook Photo “They’re pretty good offensively,” Griffin said of Bullard. “We always feel that if we hold a team under 50 points, we can win. We did that (Friday) but we just didn’t get our scoring.”

The Bearettes got on the board first when Desiree Johnson hit LaQuesha Cooper cutting to the basket. Then Bullard hit its first 3-pointer and took the lead.

Brownsboro answered back when Yniqua Mosely hit two free throws after being fouled down in the low block. Synola Harmon hit a free throw and Hillary Shaffer followed her own missed shot, snagging the offensive rebound and scoring from in close as the Bearettes went up 7-3.

But Bullard got its second, 3-point shot of the quarter with 7.6 seconds left on the clock and narrowed the lead to one at the end of the first period.

The Bullard defense clamped down in the second quarter, holding Brownsboro to only four points in the period while the Lady Panther offense put 13 points (including two more 3-pointers) on the board to take a 19-11 lead at halftime.

It was a back-and-forth third quarter. Shaffer scored seven of Brownsboro’s 10 points in the period. Bullard scored 12 in the period to stretch its lead to doubledigits.

The Bearettes fought back in the final period as the physical nature of the game pushed both teams into the bonus and to the free throw line for the rest of the way. Brownsboro went 10-14 from the line in the fourth quarter while Bullard was 3-for-9 from the charity stripe.

Brownsboro cut the defi- cit to three points with 3:30 left in the game, but Bullard hit a free throw and it’s ninth 3-pointer of the game to stretch the lead back to seven.

LaQuesha Cooper cut the lead to 41-40 when she drove across the lane and hit a floating one-hander with 18 seconds left in the game.

After a defensive stop, Cooper was driving near the basket, went up and was hit, falling to the court as the buzzer went off, but no foul was called.

Shaffer led Brownsboro with 15 points and Coo- per added nine points from the point guard position. Harmon and Mosely each scored eight points in the game.

The Bearettes coach praised his players for their effort.

“Our kids, when we got down, could have quit and they didn’t,” Griffin said. “I’ve always told them if they work hard, the wins and losses take care of themselves. We had a chance to win in the end ...”

“I’m not any prouder of them than if they had won,” the coach added. “They played hard and I couldn’t ask any more of them.”

Tuesday, Feb. 16 Brownsboro 62, Lorena 32

CORSICANA — It was a game that was pretty much over after three quarters. The Bearettes defense held sway, giving up only 25 points through those first three periods of play.

Coupled with a 23-point third quarter, Brownsboro was up 50-25 headed into the final quarter.

Desiree Johnson fed Hillary Shaffer under the basket for up-close buckets in the first quarter, LaQuesha Cooper hit Shaffer once in the same manner, and Shaffer returned the favor to Cooper cutting down the lane. Brownsboro finished the period up 11-7.

Both teams ran the court in a wide-open, close second quarter as the Bearettes went into half time up 27- 21.

The 23-4 third quarter salted the game away for the Bearettes.

Shaffer led the way with 27 points and Laquesha Cooper hit 12. Tiffany Hurd added eight points and Chelsea Chambers hit two, 3-pointers.

Chelsea Holcomb had four points and Desiree Johnson, Lakeshia Johnson, and Synola Harmon each had two points.

“We were a little nervous in the first half,” Bearettes head coach Fred Griffin said. “They ran at us, but I give it to our kids, we got settled down in the second half, and they held them off.”