MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Bradley Central was unable to set up a championship matchup between the No. 2- and No. 1-ranked Class AAA girls' high school basketball teams in the state.
Cold shooting in the second half was the main culprit.
The No. 2-ranked Bearettes shot 4-for-22 from the field after halftime - a 1-for-11 third quarter helped their opponent get things turned around - and Houston ended Bradley's season with a 52-49 semifinal victory Friday afternoon at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center.
Houston (28-5) will play top-ranked Riverdale (35-1) at 2 p.m. Eastern today for the title. Riverdale beat Bearden 77-59 in the earlier semifinal.
"These kids made this year one of my most enjoyable," said Bradley coach Jason Reuter at the end of his eighth season heading the program. "I don't think many people thought we were going to be 33-1. And we were one play away from playing in the state finals. One play."
That one play, such as a late 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, would normally be expected to be attempted by Miss Basketball winner and Kentucky signee Rhyne Howard. However, she was called for her fifth foul when she poked the ball away from Jayla Hemingway with 40.6 seconds remaining and Bradley leading by one.
"I didn't think I fouled her. But then again, I shouldn't have done it," Howard said of her decision.
Hemingway made both free throws, then tacked on two more with 7.7 seconds to play for what turned out to be the final margin.
In between, as the clock ticked below 20 seconds, Bradley's Jamaryn Blair penetrated into the lane as she had done so often throughout the game. But as had been the case often in the second half, she had difficulty getting a shot to go in over the taller Lady Mustangs underneath.
Melisa Carter's block over the endline meant the Bearettes retained possession with 13.6 seconds showing. But after inbounding, Hannah Lombard drove to the basket and after a collision was whistled for a charging foul - a call Reuter said might have gone either way.
"We could be celebrating right here," the coach said. "A game like this can be decided by one or two plays. It's so fragile."
The Bearettes had defeated Houston 59-43 in December during the East/West Classic hosted by East Hamilton.
"I knew I could convince our kids that we were better than we were the last time," Houston coach Ben Moore said. "Bradley Central is good, but we were not doing anything to help ourselves out."
The Lady Mustangs helped themselves plenty Friday with a hounding man-to-man defense that was especially effective in the second half. Down 31-25 at the break, they scored the first eight points in the third quarter.
Not only were they in contention the rest of the way, they led 46-39 at the midway point of the fourth quarter.
"I don't know that I've ever coached a team where the defense locked up like that," Moore said.
Hemingway ended up 11-of-13 from the free-throw line and led Houston with 19 points. Destinee Wells added 16 before fouling out with two minutes to go.
Howard, who sat a total of five minutes because of foul trouble, getting her fourth at 1:09 of the third quarter, finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. She leaves Bradley as the third-leading scorer in the program's rich history.
"She made this old guy look good," Reuter said of this year's only senior, who was part of four district championship teams, three region winners and two state semifinals.
Blair, a freshman reserve, totaled 13 points with nine coming in the second quarter.
"We will be back," Blair said. "It's going to take a lot of practice and a lot of hard work."
Reuter doesn't anticipate any lack of that.
"This wasn't about effort," he said. "These kids all dug down. They gave me everything they had."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.