Monroe Academy made its free throws down the stretch Tuesday night to beat the Morgan Academy Lady Senators, 53-49 in overtime.

The Lady Senators rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final period, but came up short in the end.

Trailing 47-35, Morgan Academy rallied in the final five minutes of regulation.

A steal by Katie Taylor was followed by Cameron Mott’s three-pointer to bring the Lady Senators to within five points.

The deficit was six points with just 51 seconds remaining, when the Lady Senators rebounded a missed Monroe free throw and took the ball the length of the court for a quick basket.

Even with the Lady Senators’ valiant play, foul shots kept Monroe ahead of the Senators.

Laura Whitney Bennett sank a three-pointer with just 12 seconds left in the game to cut the margin to three.

The Lady Senators tried desperately to steal the ball and get off another three-pointer that would have tied the game.

But the Lady Senators were whistled for a foul and the Lady Volunteers made their charity shots to put the game away.

The Lady Volunteers gave Morgan Academy little opportunity to mount any kind of offense early.

Morgan’s Candice Ward did her best to help the Lady Senators catch Monroe, matching the Lady Volunteers three-pointer for three-pointer. But without an inside game, the Lady Senators were no match for Monroe.

The Lady Senators appeared to have found their game late in the first quarter. Morgan Academy worked the ball around the key, finding an open Elizabeth Elliot for an easy shot under the basket. Elliott finished with six points and 11 rebounds.

Morgan trailed 27-16 at the half. However, the Lady Senators rallied, scoring the first six points of the third period to narrow the margin to 27-22. Katie Taylor (12 points, 7 rebounds) snagged a missed Monroe penalty shot and took the ball the length of the court to make it a three-point game.

But Monroe’s three-pointers continued to fall. The Lady Volunteers took their longest lead of the night, 47-35.

Morgan Academy’s junior varsity team faired better and came away with a 27-17 victory.

Jamie Pilcher scored a game-high 11 points to lead the Lady Senators. Laura Lee Logan had six points and Jaye Lyn Lawrence finished with four points and seven steals. Hayes Cothran and Sarah Hughey both had three points for Morgan Academy.