NASHVILLE -- They didn't go down without a fight.

In fact, for the majority of Saturday's East/Middle Region consolation game, the Webb girls most certainly took the fight right to host University School of Nashville.

In the end, the Tigers rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half to squeeze out a narrow 46-44 win over the Lady Feet to advance to the sectional this weekend in Memphis.

"Physically and mentally, that's as good as we've played. People were stepping up, making plays, handling the ball better and being smarter," said Webb coach Jeff Mitchell, whose team finishes the season with a 9-16 mark. "That team beat us by 30 a couple times this year, so our girls could have come out and laid down.

"Instead, they came over here, played their guts out and tried to get a win. It was exciting…that was a fun game to coach because the girls laid it on the line tonight."

After USN held a slim 10-9 edge following one quarter, the Lady Feet came alive in the second period and took control. Led by Elizabeth Lawrence's eight first-half points, the visitors managed a 9-2 spurt to open up an 18-12 lead midway through the second frame. Webb finished with three 3-pointers in the opening 16 minutes and, with Zola Quao's steal and basket as time expired, the Lady Feet had built a 23-15 halftime advantage.

As expected, the Tigers fought back quickly and began the second half on a 5-0 run to cut the margin to just three points. The visitors, however, were able to cling to a 34-32 lead heading to the final period.

USN took their first lead of the second half at 40-38 with 4:30 to play in the fourth and then built it to five with one minute remaining in the contest. However, that's when things got interesting.

Despite some very questionable calls that went against the Lady Feet, Callie Vaughn and Quao managed to drain two clutch free throws apiece to whittle the deficit to just one with 27 seconds remaining.

Following one made free throw by the Tigers, Webb had the ball with a chance to tie or win in the final seconds. Vaughn was knocked to the floor, but no foul was called as the Lady Feet couldn't get off a shot before the final buzzer.

"We just couldn't hold them off," Mitchell said. "We had them down eight and they just kept creeping back."

Lawrence finished with a game-high 17 points, Quao pitched in 15 and Vaughn tacked on another 10 for Webb.

USN (12-14) was led by Erin Drake's 15 and Kayla Ducklo's 11.

"We're so young that it was such a great experience for them in tournament time to get such a nice effort," Mitchell added. "We just about won the game and that would have been something to pull off the upset and go over to Memphis with this team."