Tuesday could have ended with triumph for Seven lakes, or it could have ended in disaster.

A win over Cinco Ranch in the teams last district 19-6A game would have given the Spartans a share of the district championship, while a loss would drop them to the third seed heading into the playoffs.

The Spartans came away 67-54 winners in the matchup, as they secured home court advantage un the first round of the playoffs and their share of the district championship with the win.

Cinco Ranch had won the matchup between the two sides in their first meeting, and Seven Lakes wanted to make sure and get revenge.

“It was really big,” said Seven Lakes senior guard Cailyn Tucker. “We came in and we wanted our revenge, but we knew we couldn’t push too hard. But we wanted to come back and show them that we were better than the first time we played them. I think we definitely showed them that tonight and proved that too ourselves. It was just a really important win for us to get our confidence back.”

The game started as a back and forth affair. Seven Lakes jumped out to an early lead, but Cinco Ranch came back to tie things at 14 at the end of the first quarter.

Cinco had a strong first half, especially on the boards, but Seven Lakes was able to stay in front behind 24 first half points from Justice Carlton, as the Spartans held on to a 30-28 lead heading into halftime.

Carlton finished the game with 44 points, her career high.

“It’s just being around my teammates that brings the best out of me,” Carlton said. “I do my best whenever we’re in the gym doing what we have to do. When we’re playing right and doing the right things, shooting like we should. It just makes it to where I see the ball going into the net.”

The Spartans struggled on the boards in the first half, but came out with a renewed focus on rebounding in the second half.

That led to the team breaking the game open and gaining a 12 point lead heading into the final quarter, a lead the Spartans continued to build on until the final whistle.

“I told them at halftime, if you can’t keep the ball out of their hands, this is going to be close all the way to the finish,” said Seven Lakes head coach Angela Spurlock. “We decided that the boards were really important. We knew that coming in because they outrebounded us in the first game and it’s an area of the game we have to continue to improve on. But we made that adjustment at halftime and in the second half I think the players did a good job across the board.”

With Tuesday night over, the playoff race is decided and the four teams in in District 19-6A are Seven Lakes, Tompkins, Cinco Ranch and Katy.

But even with the four teams decided the drama doesn’t end there. Seven Lakes and Tompkins are tied for first in district and Cinco Ranch and Katy are tied for third, with no team owning a tiebreaker in either matchup.

Because of this, there will be a play in game or coinflip to decide the one and two seeds between Seven Lakes and Tompkins and the three and four seeds with Cinco Ranch and Katy.

But no matter what matchup Seven Lake gets in the first round, the team is confident.

“Last year in the playoffs, I focused soley on the inside, this year I’m excited to see what I can do, now that I’m playing more freely,” Carlton said. “I’m also in a lot better shape than last year and that will help too.

District 19-6A

Seven Lakes 67, Cinco Ranch 54

Points: (SL) Justice Carlton 44, Summer Halphen 7, KK Tucker 5, Caitlyn Quintero 4, Aliyah Atqi 3; (CR) Aniya Foy 15, Sophie Baran 11,  Isabella Hartl 8, Danielle Williams 7, Madison Mascorro 4, Camille Torrence 4, Sofia Budnik 2, Madison Lee 2

Halftime: Seven Lakes 30-28; 3-pointers: Carlton 2, Atqui 2, Halphen 3, Atiqi