RIO GRANDE - Almost.

The Rock Hill Redwomen continued their improvement until the final buzzer as they lost 52-48 to the Waverly Lady Tigers Monday in the Division II sectional tournament.

"We were right there. For a bunch of young kids, they played pretty well. The offensive rebounding hurt us," Redwomen coach Matt Fulks said.

Brooke Long had 14 points, Mandi McKenzie scored 11 points and Brittany Ross added 8 points for the Redwomen who finished the season 2-16.

Katrina Beekman had 13 points to lead Waverly.

The Lady Tigers led 17-11 after the first quarter and 34-26 at the half. Rock Hill then cut the deficit to 38-33 after three quarters.

Long scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as Rock Hill battled back and took a one-point lead with just under three minutes to play.

But Waverly rallied down the stretch to squeeze out the win.

"We gave up a couple of offensive rebounds and got a couple of bad breaks," Fulks said.

"Brittany Ross shot the ball real well. I can't say enough about Mandi McKenzie. We played her all over the floor and she did a good job for us," Fulks said. "We'll work hard this summer and see what happens."

Rock Hill1115715-48

Waverly1717414-52

ROCK HILL (2-16):

Brooke Long 2 3 1-2 14, Brittany Ross 0 2 2-2 8, Michelle Pancake 1 0 1-1 3, Kelsey Harris 1 0 0-0 2, Mandi McKenzie 3 0 5-9 11, Bobbi Harper 2 0 0-0 4, Katrina Settle 0 0 2-2 2, Anna Bridges 2 0 0-0 4, Carla Bias 0 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11

(5)

11-16

48. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: None.

WAVERLY (NA):

Natalie Murphy 1 2 1-2 9, McKenzie Gullion 1 0 4-8 6, Bethany Bixler 4 0 1-1 9, Becca Lacey 1 0 0-0 2, Samantha Mays 1 0 3-4 5, Elizabeth Crocker 3 0 2-2 8, Katrina Beekman 4 0 5-6 13. Totals: 15

(2)

16-23

52. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.