MILLEN — The Claxton Lady Tigers had a good run in the Region 3-A tournament, but came up just one win shy of a championship.
    Claxton led Calvary Day by as much as 19-3 early in the second quarter, but the Lady Cavaliers —who didn’t drop a game in region play during the regular season — refused to go down, clawing their way back to claim a 35-33 victory and the region championship.
    The Cavaliers (24-3) grabbed hold of the lead with 6:48 to go on a driving layup by Alexus Parker (22 points), then managed to hang on down the stretch.
    “Overall, I thought it was a great effort by our girls,” Claxton coach Laura Aziz said. “Calvary is a very good team and Parker is so dangerous. We felt that we played a good game, but it doesn’t take much for (Calvary) to find a way to win.”
    Early on, the Tigers —who lost two close games to Calvary in the regular season — had upset on their minds. Parker hit a free throw for the game’s first point, but Claxton (20-8) scored 19 of the next 21.
    The Tigers’ impressive run wasn’t explosive, but rather the product of patience and solid defense. Claxton was able to stop Calvary’s quick-strike attack by consistently getting down the court and setting up its zone defense.
    The Cavaliers tried swinging the ball all around the court, but couldn’t find any lanes to drive into. Forced into taking contested jumpers, Parker — usually a dead-eye from long range — missed on all six of her 3-point attempts.
    Offensively, the Tigers were content to walk the ball up the floor, delivering pass after pass until finding the shot that they wanted. Brianna VanDuerson notched six early points in the paint, freeing up space for Jasmine Price (14 points) on the wings.
    Claxton seemed to have total control, but a run by Calvary late in the first half got the Cavs back in contention. Parker broke loose for a pair of layups and Calvary closed to within 19-13 at halftime.
    “Parker only needs one or two to get going,” Aziz said. “It seemed like she scored every time she was able to drive in on us.”
    Momentum continued to swing for Calvary in the second half.
    Parker scored the first five points of the quarter and Abigail Lewis’s put-back made it 20-19 Calvary to cap a 17-0 run.
    Seemingly in trouble, Claxton’s offense finally got back on track
    Price hit a jumper to break the run and Ikeria Brown converted down low on consecutive possessions, but Calvary quickly rallied and Claxton never regained the lead.
    Trailing 31-27 late in the fourth quarter, Price drilled a 3 to keep things close. The sophomore guard hit another big jumper to get the Tigers within 34-32 with 1:19 to play, but Price fouled out in the final minute as Claxton tried to stop the clock.
    “Jasmine hit some big shots all game long,” Aziz said. “She’s a team player though. She did what she had to do when we needed to get Calvary on the line.”
    Claxton got one last chance when Brittany Griffen missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 2.4 seconds to play, but Devonna Brewton’s 75-foot desperation heave fell well short as the Cavaliers stormed the court to celebrate.
    The Tigers now await the unveiling of the Class A state playoff brackets to see who their next opponent will be.

    Mike Anthony may be reached at (912) 489-9404.