“Everybody dreams about it,” said Rattliff, a point guard who finished with five points and controlled the Ragdolls’ offensive flow when it counted most. “I had it playing in my mind, and then it happened and I was like, ‘I knew that was gonna happen."

Trailing 19-12 at halftime, Ryan outscored the Bambies by 14-9 in the third quarter and by 12-8 in the fourth. With freshman Alyssa Browning (10 points), junior Lex Price (8 points, 6-for-6 from the foul line, 4-for-4 in the fourth), and senior Kate Patterson (8 points) pacing Hubert’s, the Ragdolls stayed close behind Rattliff, junior Delaney Finn (12 points on four three-pointers), sophomore Riley Lukach (nine points, seven in the fourth), and sophomore Eliana Szatkowski (six points, three blocks).

After Price swished two free throws to tie the game at 36-36 with 21.3 seconds left in regulation, Ryan called time. On the ensuing possession, Rattliff avoided stiff defense while dribbling up court. A few seconds later, a missed shot was rebounded by Lukach.

With the clock winding down and the crowd becoming louder, Finn passed to Rattliff at the top of the key. 

“We’ve been working on poise all season long,” he said. “I’ve been preaching to Reynah the ‘three P’s’ – patience, poise, and pace. And you have to have that as a point guard, especially if you want to play at this level or the next level.

“The PCL prepares us for a lot of that. We’ve already played the top echelon of the PCL. This was a game coming down to the wire that was a testament of us learning through those losses.  We’ve been giving great effort. This was the biggest game of the season. We circled it in the beginning of the year.”

Hubert’s has the toughest finish, with visits to Conwell-Egan (3-6) and Archbishop Wood (9-0). If Hubert’s splits and finishes 3-6 while Archbishop Ryan defeats both Bonner-Prendergast (0-7) and Little Flower (1-7), then Ryan would finish eighth because of the win over Hubert’s.

But then there’s Little Flower. If the Sentinels defeat both West Catholic and Archbishop Ryan while Hubert’s loses twice, the Sentinels would place eighth.

"We are going to try," said Little Flower coach Ed Dever, whose Sentinels are 9-10 overall after having won one game last year. "It would be good for the girls. It's been a lot of fun this year."

As for the regular-season championship, three teams could finish tied for first. At 8-0, Archbishop Wood hosts Lansdale Catholic on Tuesday and finishes with St. Hubert’s. Second-place Cardinal O’Hara is 7-1 with home bouts versus Neumann-Goretti and West Catholic. After visiting Wood, Lansdale Catholic (7-1) visits Archbishop Carroll.

Though Carroll is 6-2 and could finish 8-2, the Patriots can’t finish first because of earlier losses to both Wood and O’Hara. 

Freshman Alexis Eberz tallied 13 points. For the Saints, sophomores Amya Scott (18 points) and Carryn Easley (16) helped give N-G a 12-10 after the first quarter.

Extra special celebration between the Wilson sisters? Apparently not.

"We talked about the game as much as we would a regular one," said Brooke. "Doesn't matter who scores. Carroll scored 67 points. It was a great win for us."

In a much-anticipated meeting between visiting Cardinal O’Hara and Lansdale Catholic that at various points turned into a foul-fest, the Lions appeared in total control when leading 47-35 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Crusaders, however, despite most of their starters in serious foul trouble, clawed back to within two and had a chance to tie in the closing seconds. But a basket by senior Gabby Casey (16 points) with one second left was nullified by a charging foul, and the Lions hung on for a 53-51 victory.

“We’ve been in those situations before,” said O’Hara junior Joanie Quinn, who seemed to be involved in every key play of the game, including taking the charge at the end. “We’ve been on that side, and we’ve been on this side.”

“The fans . . . it was a great atmosphere,” said Quinn. “We can’t get overly excited. It’s a really good league. It’s a lot of tough competition. It always is. It’s just really fun to play in, honestly.”

O’Hara sophomore Molly Rullo scored 15 of her team-high 20 points in the first half. Junior Greta Miller drained three treys for nine points. Junior Carly Coleman added eight points. Though not among the scorers, senior Bridget Dawson contributed with particularly strong defense.