Yvonne Anderson woke up to quite a surprise on her 17th birthday Thursday.

L.G. Patterson photo/Special to the Tribune

Above, Liberty’s Kara Fleming leaps into the arms of teammate Heather Wansing (13) as Hickman’s Yvonne Anderson (12) and Shana White (52) walk off the court after the Blue Jays rallied from 20 points down in the second half to beat the Kewpies’ 50-49 last night in the MSHSAA Class 5 semifinals at Mizzou Arena. Hickman led 43-23 with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter before allowing Liberty to pull off the shocking comeback. Below, Hickman Coach Tonya Mirts yells instructions to her team in the first half of the Kewpies’ loss. Hickman (28-2) will face Normandy in the MSHSAA Class 5 third-place game at 9:45 tonight.

Nick King photo

The flu.

Although she was feeling better yesterday, things haven’t gotten any better for the Hickman superstar.

After watching her father’s Missouri basketball team get eliminated in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament late Thursday night, Anderson and the second-ranked Hickman girls basketball team had their state-championship hopes dashed late last night by a stunning second-half collapse.

Leading Liberty by as many as 20 points late in the third quarter of its Class 5 semifinal at Mizzou Arena, Hickman saw that seemingly insurmountable lead melt away completely in a 50-49 loss.

Kendra Carlyle’s 3-pointer with 9 seconds left provided the winning points and gave Liberty its only other lead since the Blue Jays scored the game’s first five points.

"Oh, boy," Liberty Coach Brad Oyler said, "it’s been awhile since I’ve been involved in a game like this."

Hickman Coach Tonya Mirts only wishes she could say the same thing. Carlyle’s game-winning 3-pointer was reminiscent of past playoff disappointments for the veteran coach. In three straight years from 1999 to 2001, Mirts saw last-second 3-pointers snatch away certain playoff victories for the Kewpies. In a 4A semifinal at the Hearnes Center in 2000, a desperation 3-pointer by a Poplar Bluff reserve at the end of regulation led to an overtime defeat.

"Unfortunately, I’ve seen the 3-pointer in the postseason one too many times on the other end," Mirts said.

Through most of last night’s semifinal, it didn’t appear a last-second shot was going to decide the outcome. Despite a sluggish start by Anderson, the Kewpies (28-2) forced 10 first-quarter turnovers to take a 21-10 lead. Hickman held a 31-20 lead at halftime and extended that advantage to 43-23 with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter after a transition basket by Anderson.

After scoring eight points in the first half, Anderson caught fire in the third quarter. The 5-foot-7 junior scored all but two of Hickman’s 12 points in the third quarter to give the Kewpies what appeared to be an insurmountable lead.

It wasn’t to be.

With the Kewpies backing out of their full-court pressure, Liberty (26-4) mounted its comeback. The Blue Jays scored the final four points of the third quarter and the first eight of the fourth to close to within 43-35 with 5:23 left.

Hickman had its opportunities to keep the Blue Jays at bay. Anderson, who finished with a game-high 20 points, missed 5 of 7 free throws in the fourth quarter. When she missed the front end of a one-and-one situation with 3:02, Kara Fleming came down the court and made her third 3-pointer to close the score to 45-42.

After missed opportunities by both teams, Chasity Prince came up with a big shot for Hickman when she dropped in a 3-pointer with 1:27 left to push the Kewpies’ lead to 48-42. Heather Wansing answered for Liberty, though, draining a 3-pointer to cut the margin to three points heading into the final minute.

When the Kewpies missed the front end of another bonus free throw situation at the 1:00 mark, this time by Ciara Tatum, Liberty was able to trim Hickman’s lead to one with a basket by Kendra Beagle.

"It’s very difficult to stop that snowball once it starts," Mirts said.

With 19 seconds left, Prince was sent to the line and made 1 of 2 free throws to give Hickman a precarious two-point lead. Fleming dribbled up court for Liberty and found Carlyle open right in front of the Liberty bench.

"I just passed it to her, and it was in slow motion," Fleming said of the winning shot. "I think everybody just paused and waited and waited, and it fell."

Hickman immediately took the ball out of bounds and tried to rush the ball upcourt. As Hickman senior Lauren Nolke tried to dribble upcourt, she collided with a Liberty player. No foul was called, the ball rolled out of bounds and Liberty was awarded the ball with 1.2 seconds left. With still several fouls to give before Liberty was in the bonus, Hickman was unable to get the ball back, and the Blue Jays ran out the clock.

Beagle led Liberty with 13 points, Fleming scored 12 and Wansing totaled 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Nolke made three 3-pointers in the first half and scored all of her 11 points before halftime. She took only two shots in the second half. Prince added 10 points, for the Kewpies who play for third place in a game that will start after 10 p.m.

● Hazelwood East 69, Normandy 52: In a semifinal that featured 75 turnovers, Hazelwood East (24-5) only made 34 of those to advance to tonight’s title game.

With Normandy (20-8) holding a 26-24 halftime lead, Hazelwood East used a 19-4 run over the final 4:30 of the third quarter to take a 50-36 lead.

Robneisha Wood led Hazelwood East with 18 points. Jasmine Bailey totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds and 10 turnovers for Normandy.

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