Hamilton then made a pair of free throws to open the final quarter and Sway Denton and Anna Beyers added baskets to put Pana on top, 39-36, at the five-minute mark.

That’s when Bueker took over.

She hit a short jumper and then grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to put T-Town ahead to stay, 40-39. After Ciara Roepke converted a Pana turnover into a basket, Bueker converted another Pana miscue into a score. That made it 44-39 with 2:26 left.

The Lady Shoes managed to run quite a bit of time off the clock before the Lady Panthers began to foul. But Roepke and Olivia Niemerg both made a pair of free throws to complete the 12-point surge and increase the lead to 48-39 with just 31 seconds left.

Pana’s only points in the final five minutes came from Beyers. But with just nine seconds remaining, it wasn’t nearly enough and the Teutopolis cheering section began to celebrate yet another regional championship.

“Pana came to play tonight. I knew it would be a good game,” Thompson noted. “I thought we got a little better as the game went on, but we’re headed to the sectional. We still need to get a lot better and quickly.”

The proverbial lid was on the basket for the T-Town girls when the game started. They missed their first 10 shots, including six from behind the arc. Roepke’s three with 27 seconds to go represented the only points the Lady Shoes scored in the opening period. But they trailed by just four, 7-3.

When the girls reached the huddle, it was a vocal Coach Thompson that greeted them.

“I needed to wake them up. The way they were playing was ridiculous,” she said. “I told them to go out and play ball the way they can. They were playing like they were afraid to lose rather than playing to win.

“We also need to realize that when we’re not making threes to mix it up, get to the basket and take some short jumpers,” Thompson added. “Once we did that a couple times, it seemed to help. It seemed to calm their nerves or whatever it was.”

After Pana’s Rachel Holthaus knocked down a three to make it 10-5, the Lady Shoes started to come alive offensively.

Niemerg got things rolling with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, followed by a short jumper to tie the game 10-10. After Izzy Hardiek scored after grabbing an offensive rebound and Kaitlyn Schumaker made a pair of foul shots, the game was still knotted at 14-14.

Another bucket by Hardiek, a three-point play by Niemerg and a basket by Lexie Niebrugge helped T-Town close the half on a 7-3 run and take a 21-17 advantage to the locker room at halftime.

With Niebrugge scoring six points and Niemerg adding four more, T-Town led 31-27 seven minutes into the second half before the Lady Panthers closed to within one and set the stage for the final eight minutes.

The Lady Panthers, who ended their season at 25-7, got a game-high 16 points from Hamilton.

The Lady Shoes had two players in double figures. Niemerg led the way with 15 points while Roepke added 10. Niemerg and Niebrugge led the team with seven rebounds apiece.

After claiming its 11th straight regional championship, T-Town improved to 23-8.

“This never gets old,” Thompson admitted. “Some may think it does, but it doesn’t. I think tradition can take you a little ways, but the girls still need to work hard. Each team has to create its own footprint. I’m really happy for this team. It’s special every year.”

The Lady Shoes will now play in the Paris Sectional. They will face either Bismark-Henning-Rossville-Alvin or Tolono Unity at 6 p.m. Monday. Those two teams will play tonight in the Maroa-Forsythe Regional.

The other two teams in the sectional will be St. Joseph-Ogden and either Paris or Sullivan. Those teams are playing tonight for the championship in the Sullivan Regional.

The sectional final will be at 7 p.m. Thursday night.