The thing is, the Lady Bulldogs knew that too.
McGregor outpaced the Lady Cougars 43-30 Friday night at Bulldog Gym to clinch the district title for the second straight year.
McGregor moved to 18-10 on the year and 12-1 in 21-2A with one regular season game to play.
Rosebud-Lott moved from having a shot at the district’s top playoff seed to fighting for its postseason life.
The Lady Cougars (24-5, 9-3) will host Franklin on Tuesday, needing a win to force a playoff for second with the same Lady Lions. A loss will likely throw the Lady Cougars into a tie for third with Mart and force another district playoff.
“This was for the district championship,” said Rosebud-Lott coach Kevin Lawler, whose team defeated McGregor last month on its own court in Travis. “I saw a lot of pain on our faces (in the lockerroom), but I told them there are championships still to be won.”
McGregor held a narrow 19-17 lead at halftime, but simply took the game away from the Lady Cougars in the second half.
While neither team’s shooting could be described as torrid, the Lady Bulldogs did outscore the Lady Cougars 9-2 in the third quarter. Rosebud-Lott’s only bucket came on a putback by Priscilla Kahlig at the 4:58 mark.
Rosebud-Lott regrouped enough to cut the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to seven, 32-25, with five minutes to play, chipping away with free throws and a 10-footer by Kahlig.
But the Lady Cougars went more than three minutes before scoring again. The Lady Cougars were still within seven, 37-30, when Karli Thornton nailed a 3-pointer with 1:24 left.
McGregor sophomore Whitney Burton was too much for the Lady Cougars inside, drawing fouls and pulling down rebounds. Burton scored 13 of her game-high 15 points in the final quarter and had all but two of McGregor’s 15 in the final eight minutes.
