Wednesday night, the Tecumseh Arrows girls’ basketball team crushed the CBC co-leading Shawnee Braves by 40 points to take the lead in the conference. Three days later, it was a much different story.

After playing the Braves in a weather-related makeup game on Wednesday, the Arrows had to make the trip to Shawnee to play the Braves where a win would wrap up the CBC championship.

It was a much more difficult task the second time around.

Tecumseh used the clock on their side in the fourth quarter, and clung to a three-point lead for most of the final eight minutes, before surviving 38-34 and earning the third consecutive CBC championship for the Arrows. It was a game where the Arrows did more wrong than right, but they did enough to hang on for the win.

“You know the pressure is on having won it the past two years, you never know how your kids are going to step up,” said Tecumseh coach Danielle Thomas. “That pressure is big. Tonight was hideous but the whole point of a championship is finding a way to win and I thought my girls did that.”

Both teams battled in the opening quarter, as Shawnee took a 9-6 lead midway through the period. Tecumseh battled back with a short jumper from Terah Harness and scoring from Presley Griffitts and Macy Berner in the final minute to tie the game at 12 after one.

Tecumseh held a slim 23-22 lead at the half, coming back again from a slight deficit as Shawnee led 20-14 with 3:30 left in the half. Berner scored on a couple of quick shots, and Corinne Thomas scored in the paint in the final 40 seconds of the half to give the Arrows the lead.

Mackenzie Pauley hit a big three with 6:15 left in the third period to give Tecumseh a 28-27 lead, and it would be a lead that the Arrows would never relinquish. Shawnee kept it close but could never get the lead.

It was 34-31 heading to the fourth, and nobody scored until Thomas scored on a layup with 1:40 left in the game. Tecumseh’s plan was to force Shawnee to guard them, and take care of the ball.

“We started slowing down the action late in the third, but everyone plays junk on us but neither is any different than the other,” Thomas said. “We made it rough by not hitting our free throws.” Tecumseh shot under 50% from the free throw line in the game.

“This team shoots more free throws than any other team I have ever coached,” she added. “To me that is lack of focus.”

Tecumseh ends the season tonight hosting Kenton Ridge as they will also cut down the nets after the game. Tipoff is 7:30.