ANNA — Anna-Jonesboro may have finished third in the SIRR Mississippi girls basketball standings, but the Lady Wildcats were a major reason Carterville and Nashville ended up sharing the conference championship.

A-J beat both the Hornettes and the Lions during the pandemic shortened season. The win over Carterville came Thursday night and prevented the Lions from winning the conference title outright.

Anna Hess’ rebound basket with 4.1 seconds left broke a 43-43 tie and turned out to be the game winner. Hess, one of three A-J seniors, led all scorers with 17. Carterville had one last chance but was unable to get a shot off.

The game was back and forth all night, with three points being the biggest lead of the second half. The Lady Wildcats scored the final four points of the first half to lead 25-22 at the break. A-J led 31-28 heading to the fourth. Kasha Ward hit a three-pointer early in the fourth for Carterville to tie the game. Alecia Doyle scored eight points in the fourth quarter, including the game-tying jumper with 1:30 to play.

Doyle’s bucket came after Jaley Watkins’ three-point play had given A-J a 43-41 lead with 2:07 to play. Watkins joined Hess in double figures with 10.

Averi Vanderzille led Carterville with 14. Alecia Doyle added 12, and Kasha Ward had 11.

Carterville finishes 14-2, 8-2 in the Mississippi.