Viqueen junior Heather Small takes it strong to the basket against Lady Warrior Josie Hall in the opening round of the Region 5-A tournament Friday night. (T-G Photo by Jimmy Jones) [Click to enlarge]

McEWEN -- The Community Viqueens allowed a 22-point cushion then scrapped, scratched and clawed their way back only to fall in the closing seconds as top-seeded McEwen won 59-54 in the opening round of the Region 5-A tournament Friday night.

The Lady Warriors (19-10) shot the lights out in the first two quarters to counter the Viqueens' zone defense designed to stop District 10-A MVP Andrea Hobson.

Jessie Hall, Allison Hobson and Anna Stewart combined to hit eight 3-pointers to take leads of 16-6 and 37-17 at the end of each period.

It wasn't what Community (15-11) had so eagerly anticipated during their week of preparation.

"We came out a bit sluggish to start the game," Viqueen coach Allison Layne said. "We couldn't get a shot to fall and it seemed like everything they shot went in.

"We were down by a large margin at the half but I told the girls that I still believed in them and that we should set a third quarter goal of cutting the lead to less than 10 points. We felt like if we could do that and make some adjustments on defense that we could win this game."

The Purple and Gold employed a swarming press to open the second half. McEwen was ill-equipped to handle the pressure, as evidenced by 10 third-period turnovers. Community took advantage of easy shots to pull within 44-31 going into the fourth stanza.

The Viqueens just missed their halftime ambition due to a controversial call by the off-side official that allowed a Lady Warrior goal despite the shot being released well after the buzzer sounded ending the third period. That set off a storm of protest by the Bedford County fans and chants of "thank you" by the home fans.

That call took away some of the Viqueens' momentum and changed the complexion of the game for several minutes as the suddenly energized Lady Warriors scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to extend the lead back to 18.

But the Viqueens weren't ready to concede their season and embarked on a frenzied comeback that featured clutch 3-pointers by Heather Small, Jessica Thompson and Aubrey Boyce and key rebounding by Marissa Jones, Courtney Vassar and Kassidy Lane.

Aubrey Boyce stops and pops for two of her team-leading 16 points against McEwen. (T-G Photo by Jimmy Jones) [Click to enlarge]

The Viqueens cut the lead to three points with 1:38 left and had the ball on two successive trips down the floor to tie the game before shots by Small and Boyce went in and out of the basket.

Forced to foul to preserve the clock, the Viqueens watched helplessly as McEwen shooters connected on 7-of-11 charity tosses down the stretch to seal the win and advance to the semifinals.

"We dug ourselves too big a hole not just once, but twice," Layne said. "We expended too much energy to overcome the deficits and ran out of juice there at the end.

"I am extremely proud of the effort our kids gave, though. They never quit and they fought for everything that they could get in this game. They can be proud of that.

"We will spend considerable time in the offseason working on getting the type of effort we got in the last two quarters in each and every game from start to finish next season."

Community bids farewell to senior four-year players Leslie Murphy and Kayla Clanton.

"Kayla and Leslie have been the epitome of class and hard work," Layne said. "Both of them have worked as hard as anybody during the week in practice and are exemplary students in the class room.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to be associated with such fine young ladies. We wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavors."