Tompkins did everything they could to hold off Memorial on Tuesday.

The Falcons fought, they made runs and traded baskets with the Mustangs, they worked hard on both offense and defense, but in the end it just wasn’t their day.

Despite a valiant Tompkins effort and a team that gave everything, the Falcons season came to an end with a 62-55 loss to Memorial in the Class 6A Regional Quarterfinal Round, but it wasn’t for a lack of the players giving it their all.

“They hit some big shots, but every time they did, we came back down and hit big shots as well,” said Tompkins head coach Tamatha Ray. “We had the answers, but we didn’t always get the stops on defense, we were never able to break away and they did from us in the end. That Memorial team is a really good team.”

Tompkins came out trading punches from the start and trailed by four after the first quarter but trimmed the Memorial lead to just one heading into halftime behind a strong performance from Macy Spencer, who kept the Falcons in the game despite offensive struggles.

“I didn’t want it to end,” Spencer said. “This program developed me so much as a person and a basketball player. I’ve been taught so many lessons and so much discipline from the program and coaches. It’s meant so much to me.”

The Falcons offense came alive in the third quarter, as the team hit five three-pointers, but every time they did, Memorial would have an answer and despite 20 third quarter points from Tompkins they still trailed by four heading into the fourth. Tompkins stayed within striking distance in the fourth but was unable to take the lead, as Memorial sealed things with free throws down the stretch.

Spencer finished the game with 27 points, while Rihanna DeLeon had 10 points to finish as the teams second leading scorer.

It was the second straight trip to the regional quarterfinals for the Falcons and the fourth year in a row Tompkins had reached at least the area round of the playoffs.

“These seniors, they gave us everything their entire time through the program,” Ray said. “They put everything they’ve had into us. I couldn’t have asked for more from the seniors this year, especially from Fiyin (Adeleye) and Macy. That’s the hard part of all of this. That chapter closes and none of us wanted it to be done yet.”

With the graduation of some of the past two seasons biggest pieces in Spencer, Adeleye and Tanya Philip, the underclassman of Tompkins know it will take them stepping up this offseason, but that’s what Tompkins is all about, and the passing of the torch has always been something that the Falcons take seriously.

“The coaches here are tremendous and it goes from them on down to the players,” Spencer said. “All of them, all the teammates I’ve had here, they’ve been amazing and I just wanted to be the same for the younger girls once I was one of the leaders. It’s always important to do good here and I want them to keep that tradition going.”