So close. The Lady Tigers missed an opportunity to qualify for the state basketball tournament following a game against East Hall last week on the Lady Vikings' home court.

A missed shot with less than 5 seconds remaining ended the season for Dawson County.

East Hall came away with the 46-43 win.

The Lady Tigers finished the season with a 13-14 record.

Dawson took a quick 11-9 lead after one quarter of play, but the Lady Vikings rallied in the second quarter and outscored the Lady Tigers 20-8 to take a 29-19 halftime lead.

East Hall (23-3) came into the Region 8-AA tournament with a No. 1 seed out of the North sub region.

The Lady Vikings had already defeated Dawson County twice during the season, 64-46 and 60-43, but last week's game was a different matter.

The Lady Tigers came into the tournament as the No. 5 seed from the sub-region.

Dawson used a suffocating defense to limit the Lady Vikings' shots and to force turnovers.

After being down by 10 points at half, the Lady Tigers fought back to get within one point, 44-43, with 1:55 remaining following a 3-pointer by Kimberly Wallace.

"We created some chances, we got shots and they just didn't fall. Our kids, they wanted it," said Head Coach Steve Sweat.

Carly Gilreath led Dawson County in scoring with 20 points.

Vanderbilt signee Jazmine Jenkins led East Hall with 17 points.

Jenkins connected on two free throws to seal the win with three seconds remaining after grabbing a rebound on the Lady Tigers last chance at a go-ahead layup.

Kenna Seitz and Sheyenne Seabolt pulled down several rebounds in the game.

Seabolt finished the game with 10 rebounds, while Seitz grabbed 8.

"I want to thank the girls, parents and fans for all of their efforts and support this year," Sweat said.

Lady Tigers scorers: Gilreath-20 points, Wallace-10 points, Allie Costley-6 points, Kacie Bearden-3 points, Seitz-2 points and Ashley Parker-2 points.

Earlier in the week, Dawson qualified for the second round of the region tournament with a hard fought 50-48 win over Elbert County (13-13) on Feb. 14.

"Elbert County was physical all over the court. I was really proud of the way our girls hung in there and battled," Sweat said.

The Lady Tigers took a 4-point lead with 7.6 seconds remaining in the game. Free throws were the difference, with Dawson connecting on 8-of-8 in the final quarter.

Gilreath once again led Dawson in scoring with 22 points. Gilreath was perfect from the free throw line. She made all eight of her attempts.

Lady Tigers senior Morgan Huber scored 10 points and had four steals in the win.

Lady Tigers scorers: Gilreath-22 points, Huber-10 points, Costley-6 points, Seitz-4 points, Seabolt-4 points, Bearden-3 points and Parker-1 point.

DCN regional staff contributed to this story.