Lampasas freshman Blake Webb drives toward the basket during the Lady Badgers’ game against Burnet on Tuesday night at Badger Gym. PHOTOS BY NICK FORRESTER When Lady Badger basketball coach Jenny Bowden walked into the locker room after Tuesday’s game against Burnet, the tears were evident from her players following Lampasas’ 51-46 loss to the visitors.

“They wanted this one [win] tonight really bad,” Bowden said. “There were lots of tears, and heads were down in there.”

For a few moments in the fourth quarter, it appeared the Lady Badgers were poised to take the lead and defeat Burnet.

After falling behind 17-7 in the first quarter, the game seemed headed toward another Burnet blowout, similar to the first contest between the teams this season when Burnet defeated Lampasas 60-41.

But in the second half, the Lady Badgers came crawling back into the game and knocked Burnet’s lead down to just one possession multiple times.

Burnet’s Kati Maldonado reacts after Lampasas forced a Burnet turnover during the Lady Badgers comeback attempt on Tuesday night. “The girls came back and fought back big-time there at the end,” Bowden said. “Man, I just wanted them to be able to finish it so bad for the girls.”

In the final minutes of the game with Lampasas trailing 38-46, senior Juls Crook hit a threepointer to spark an 8-2 run, which was capped off by a layup from Blake Webb that cut Burnet’s advantage to 48-46 with 18 seconds remaining.

After the Lady Badgers forced a Burnet turnover, the crowd erupted, and it felt like Lampasas was about to claim its first lead of the game.

But when the Lady Badgers missed several free-throw attempts, stepped out of bounds on one possession and had a pass attempt go out of bounds on another possession, the crowd fell silent, and Burnet was able to hang on for the five-point victory.

“We could’ve won the game if we made some of those free throws,” Bowden said. “We’ve talked to the girls before about a free throw being a free shot; it’s a ‘gimme.’ But that really hurt us tonight.”

It also hurt Lampasas that several Lady Badgers were in foul trouble throughout the contest, as both Crook and senior Megan Mason picked up early penalties and eventually fouled out.

“I try not to talk to the refs or anything, but after awhile I was like, ‘Call it both ways,’ ” Bowden said. “What was frustrating with those was a lot of the fouls we got called on, they [Burnet] weren’t getting called for, or they [the referees] would call jump balls for them.”

Mason and Crook each finished with 11 points, while junior Julie Mize scored 10 on the night.

Had Lampasas defeated Burnet, the home team would have controlled its own playoff destiny. With the loss, the Lady Badgers will need to defeat both Llano tonight and Taylor on Tuesday – teams they defeated earlier this season – and also hope that Salado loses to the top two teams in the district standings, Liberty Hill and Burnet. If that scenario occurs, then Lampasas and Salado each will finish the district season with a 5-5 record and tie for the third and final playoff spot, which will be settled with a play-in game.

“We talked before about this being a must-win for us, and in a way it was, but in a way it wasn’t either,” Bowden said. “But now we need to pray that Salado loses out.

“I kept telling them that we’re not out of it; we’ve got to keep thinking positive. We can’t overlook Llano, and we can’t overlook Taylor and then just hope that Salado loses out.”