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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Troup Lady Tigers made it interesting, but they came up just short in their quest for a region championship.

Trailing by 13 points after three quarters, Troup clawed its way back and got as close as one point in the final quarter, but it was Carver hanging on for the 53-48 win in the Region 2-AAAA championship game on Saturday at LaGrange High.

“I was proud of them. We fought to the end,” said Troup head coach Carla Thornton. “There are a lot of things we could have done better, but we just have to put in some more work.”

Troup now turns its attention to the state tournament, and it will host New Hampstead on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a first-round game.

Last season, after losing to Sandy Creek in the region-championship game, Troup won four state-tournament games before finishing second in the state to Americus-Sumter.

“We were talking, this is the third quarter, this is the region tournament,” Thornton said. “Now it’s the fourth quarter. It’s the state tournament. It’s win or go home. It’s how bad do you want it.”

The Lady Tigers, who saw their eight-game winning streak come to a close, struggled early and were down 20-6 after the first quarter.

Troup got within nine in the second quarter, but Carver had a 29-16 lead at the halftime break.

“It was like a lid was on (the basket),” Thornton said. “We got some great looks, we just couldn’t finish.”

The Lady Tigers were unable to make up any ground in the third quarter, and they headed to the final quarter trailing 43-30.

The Lady Tigers made their move in the fourth quarter.

When Alexcia Murphy scored with 3:43 remaining to cap a 14-2 run, Carver’s once comfortable lead was down to one.

Carver quickly went back up by five, but when Aniya Palmer made two free throws with 1:38 remaining, Troup was within one point once again.

Troup didn’t score again, though, and Carver escaped with a five-point win.

Monyia Murphy led Troup with 12 points, Samarria Weldon added 11 points, Palmer scored nine points, and Alexcia Murphy contributed eight points.