YOUNGSVILLE – Highland Baptist’s fourth-quarter comeback bid came up just short in a 47-40 loss at Southside in a non-district girls basketball game on Tuesday.

The game showcased two of the area’s hottest squads. It was the eighth consecutive win for Class 5A Southside, which has won 11 of its last 13 games.

The Class 1A Lady Bears lost for only the third time in their last 12 outings.

“Southside is a very talented big team that forced us to play against rangier girls,” HBCS coach Carol Sensley said. “They’re big and versatile, both inside and outside.

“I’m glad we had this game because it forces us to grow as a team.”

The Bears (11-8) got out to a quick 4-0 lead on buckets by Yvette and M’Kiyiah Olivier. Kiara Comeaux dished an assist to Najah Johnson to make it 6-2.

The Sharks (13-8) took the lead for good with a 12-0 run. Eymani Key’s 15 points paced the Sharks, followed by Karrington Eugene (13 points), Alleyah Kennedy (10) and Tamia Cahee (9).

Trailing 42-28 early in the fourth quarter, Highland Baptist’s 12-3 run brought the Bears within 45-40 with less than a minute remaining. Key’s two free throws with 20.1 seconds left sealed the deal for the hosts.

“We kept fighting,” Sensley said. “We never gave up and kept battling.Athletically, I felt we matched up with them. We waited too late to start playing collectively.”

Southside, with its top four players checking in at 5-foot-7, 5-foot-10, 5-foot-11 and 6-foot-1, used its size advantage on the boards. Eugene grabbed 14 rebounds and Kennedy had 12 as the Sharks limited the Bears to one shot on most possessions.

On the other end of the floor, the Sharks cashed in on numerous offensive rebounds.

It didn’t help that the Bears made only 6-of-18 free throw attempts.

“We haven’t shot free throws well,” Sensely said “That’s something we’re trying to improve upon. Some of it is just lack of focus.

“The fact that we’re getting to the line is good. We’re being aggressive, but we didn’t play our best,” Sensely continued. “We missed a lot of lay-ups and didn’t shoot well in general.”

The Bears are still attempting to get healthy. Comeaux and M’Kiyiah Olivier, according to Sensley, are still limited after the pair were injured in a recent win at Central Catholic.

M’Kiyiah Olivier scored a team-high 12 points. Yvette Olivier had 10 points, while Comeaux scored eight and collected seven steals.

The Bears, 4-0 in District 7-1A return to action at home on Friday against Covenant Christian (8-6, 1-3).

Highland Baptist is No. 4 in the LHSAA select Division IV power ratings behind Southern Lab (12-6), Northwood-Lena (11-4) and Ouachita Christian (17-3).

Sensley is seeking to put another non-district test on the schedule to help prepare the Bears for the postseason. Last year, the Bears were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Southern Lab, which went on to win state.