SAN ANTONIO – The No. 8 Goldthwaite Lady Eagles came up one victory shy of playing for the UIL Class 2A girls basketball state championship as they dropped a 54-43 decision to the No. 4 Martin’s Mill Lady Mustangs Friday morning at the Alamodome in state semifinal action.

Goldthwaite (34-4) – which was making it third state tournament appearance and first since 2000 – jumped out to an 11-4 lead with 4:38 left in the first period. Martin’s Mill (35-5) then reeled off seven straight points to pull even and carried a 16-15 lead into the second period.

At halftime, the Lady Eagles trailed just 25-23 but Martin’s Mill opened the second half with 12 of the first 16 points to build a double-digit advantage, 37-27, as Kate Lindsey’s three-pointer with 3:43 left in the third quarter resulted in a time out.

Facing a 41-32 deficit heading into the fourth quarter after Hope Hermesmeyer converted a 35-footer at the buzzer for Goldthwaite, the Lady Eagles trimmed the Martin’s Mill advantage to 41-35 with 6:11 remaining.

With 90 seconds left, the Lady Eagles still faced an eight-point hole at 51-43, as the Lady Mustangs were able to keep Goldthwaite at arm’s length down the stretch.

The Lady Eagles received a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds from Hermesmeyer, 10 points from Addisyn Howard – all in the first half – nine from Lainey Jernigan, and two points apiece from Lanna Gore and Jemma Williams.

Goldthwaite shot 31 percent (12 of 39) from the floor, including 32 percent (7 of 22) on three-pointers, and 80 percent (12 of 15) at the free throw line. The Lady Eagles were outrebounded 31-30 and both teams committed 13 turnovers.

The Lady Mustangs were led by Kara Nixon’s 18 points, 13 points from Lindsey, 12 points and eight rebounds from Alli Vaughn, seven points from Ruthie Mein and four points from McKenna Wise.

Martin’s Mill sank 39 percent (20 of 51) of its shots, 26 percent (5 of 19) of its treys, and 60 percent (9 of 15) of its free throws. The Lady Mustangs owned a 28-10 edge in points in the paint.