After Lexi Bearden's steal for Magnolia, junior teammate Alexus Wykoff hit two free throws with 18.5 seconds left to provide the final margin of victory. Wykoff rattled in her first shot and earned the three-point edge by softly sinking the second.

"Oh, it felt great," Wykoff said of the first free throw. "It was nerve-wracking. I knew I need to make at least one, and all of the pressure went off my shoulders."

The Lady Tigers chipped away at Magnolia's eight-point halftime lead and finally pulled ahead on a bounce pass from Alexis Oaks to a sprinting Day-Day Davis for a 41-40 lead.

Consol later seemed to swing the momentum its way when A.J. Starks hit a 3-pointer from the left corner, bringing the Lady Tiger fans to their feet. It gave Starks a game-high 21 points, but those were the last points for Consol.

"Veteran kids made critical mistakes at the end of the ball game," Consol coach Karen Heintz said. "When you have a four-point lead and the ball you should win."

Late-game turnovers were the Lady Tigers' undoing. Consol still led 48-47 when a Magnolia steal by Katie Dalton eventually set up Hannah Coyle's go-ahead bucker with 27 seconds remaining. The Lady Tigers had a chance to shoot for the lead, but Bearden stole the ball and called timeout as she fell to the floor with 19.8 seconds left. It was the pivotal play for the sophomore guard, who returned after being helped off the court in the first quarter because of a sprained ankle.

It took only 1.4 seconds before the Lady Tigers fouled Wykoff, who finished with 14 points.

Dalton, who scored at least four in each quarter, led the Lady Bulldogs with 20 points.

"I thought Magnolia completely out-hustled us, and I have to say it kind of seemed like they wanted it a little more than we did," Heintz said. "We had some good comebacks but did not execute when we needed it."

Magnolia (19-11) avenged an earlier loss this season to Consol (27-10) and will play in the regional quarterfinals against either Waco or Brenham, who meet at 6 p.m. Friday in Hearne.

"We believed in ourselves and we knew what we could do," Magnolia coach Erika Ritter said. "I'm so proud of the way they came out in the first half and then held them off in the second half.

In a fast-paced first half, Magnolia built an edge when Bearden took an inbound pass behind a screen and buried a 3-pointer for a 26-22 lead to start a 9-2 run heading into halftime.

The Lady Bulldogs also got a perimeter jumper from Abby Gibson and a nice move and inside score from Dalton working the left baseline. It gave the Lady Bulldogs a 32-24 halftime edge.

Dalton hit a fallaway shot in the lane while drawing a foul to help Magnolia jump to a 12-5 lead to open. Consol came back with Starks' 3-pointer and a drive from Jamyra McIntosh. Lydia Garcia's driving bucket then tied it at 16 -- the first of three first-half ties, though Consol couldn't grab the lead until its second-half surge.

Magnolia 51, A&M Consolidated 48

(numbers after names indicate field goals made, free throws made-attempted, fouls, points)

MAGNOLIA (19-11) -- Taylor Bearden 1 0-0 3 2; Lexi Bearden 2 1-2 3 6; Abby Gibson 1 0-0 0 2; Hannah Coyle 3 1-2 4 7; Alexus Wykoff 5 4-7 3 14; Peighton Highsmith 0 0-0 1 0; Katie Dalton 9 2-2 0 20. Totals: 21 8-13 14 51.

CONSOL (27-10) -- Alexis Oaks 2 4-4 2 9; A.J. Starks 6 4-7 2 21; Bri Gooden 2 0-0 2 4; Lydia Garcia 1 0-1 0 2; Day-Day Davis 2 0-2 5 4; Jamyra McIntosh 3 0-0 4 6; McKenzie Dimery 1 0-0 2 2; Totals: 17 8-14 15 48.

Magnolia 18 14 6 13 -- 51

A&M Consolidated 16 8 13 11 -- 48