AUBURN — Bryannah Shea’s decision to launch her game-tying 3-pointer with 43 seconds left in the game was based on her sense of obligation to her team.

The junior later went to the foul line and delivered the two game-winning foul shots with 11 seconds remaining to help the No. 13 Richmond Bobcats claim a 41-39 victory over the fourth-ranked St. Dom’s Saints in a Class C South girls basketball preliminary game on Tuesday.

“I just saw opportunity; I was open,” Shea said of the game-tying shot. “It was pretty deep, but I was like, ‘We needed this 3,’ so I shot it. Just needed it. I was like, ‘Let’s go.’”

With 4:21 left in the fourth quarter, the Saints (14-5) had the game firmly in hand with a 39-33 lead. St. Dom’s, though, didn’t score a basket from that point forward as the Bobcats (8-11) began gnawing away at the Saints’ six-point lead.

Before Shea’s heroics from the perimeter and the charity stripe, senior captain and forward Bryanne Lancaster sparked the Bobcats’ uprising. 

Lancaster (game-high 20 points) first hit one of two free-throws with 2:39 showing on the clock, and nearly two minutes later, she dropped in an outside shot to make it 39-36.

That’s when Shea’s sense of duty took over, and she landed the tying 3-pointer.

Shea (10 points) went to the free-throw line with 11 seconds left after she was fouled while vying for a loose ball. She stepped to line and sank both shots.

“Those (foul shots), I was so sacred,” Shea confessed. “They called that a foul. I had to take a breath, calm myself down because I was really like, ‘Wow!’

“We have heart. Our team, we came ready to play.”

“I don’t know what to say about Shea,” Richmond coach Michael Ladner said. “Fearless, I guess.”

Beating St. Dom’s provides a big lift to Ladner’s Bobcats. 

“Emotionally, it is so huge for these kids,” Ladner said. “We have had a lot of ups and downs this season. We like to call it a roller coaster ride, but one thing I like about them is they never quit. 

“Tonight, they didn’t quit. I was so proud of them. We have had a lot of adversity. Our 6-foot starting center was out with the flu. She wasn’t even here tonight. So we had to have a freshman step up and it was her first time starting. I thought Kara Briand (11 points) did an amazing job.”

The Saints kept the Bobcats at arms-length for most of the game, building a 21-17 lead at halftime. Skye Rogers scored a team high 17 points, and Becca Zimmerman helped out with 11.

St. Dom’s coach J.P. Yorkey said the Bobcats were hard to shake in the physical playoff game.

“We couldn’t quite put them away,” Yorkey said. “They just kept hanging around, made some shots, made some plays and they just stuck around, stuck around.

“It looked like we were in an end-game situation … they were going to foul. We would make our free-throws and we’d walk away, but that didn’t happen.”

Yorkey lauded his team for the season they had.

“Great group of girls,” he said. “They worked hard for a long time. They are disappointed, but we a real proud of them.”

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