MADISON – Under the circumstances, it was about as good a shot Warren Central coach Donny Fuller could ask for – an open 16-footer to win or lose.

Shantta Taylor’s shot, however, was long and Greenville held on for a dramatic 72-71 double-overtime thriller in the Division 3-5A Tournament title game at Madison Central.

The bitter loss sends the Lady Vikes (21-9) to play Olive Branch, the Division 2-5A champion, in a north state satellite game Monday night. Greenville (12-15) will host Southaven.

&#8220It was a great high school basketball game with two teams that got after each other,” Fuller said. &#8220At the end, she (Taylor) got a good look and can hit that shot. We didn’t have the time to get it to (Sha’Kayla) Caples.”

And they also couldn’t go to their best outside option in senior Amanda Doyle because she was on the bench with five fouls.

The foul that sent Doyle to the bench was the very one that helped produce the winning points for the Honeybees.

Tiarra Jackson made two free throws after drawing a foul against Doyle on a drive to the lane. The free throws made it 72-71 with 22.9 seconds left.

That left WC plenty of time to find Caples, who was outstanding in the second overtime, scoring nine of her game-high 28 points.

But the constant pressure of Greenville’s quick guard tandem in Jackson and Marchetta Parker caused a rush pass just over the midcourt line, resulting in a costly turnover.

Down by one, WC fouled Breanna Lewis with 7.1 seconds left. She missed both, giving the Lady Vikes a shot at the win.

Brittany Willis drove the ball upcourt against pressure. Taylor was the only one open. She got her feet set to get the shot up, but it missed with the rebound going long and into Greenville’s hands.

&#8220Our hustle and not giving up helped get us through the overtime,” Greenville coach Vantesy Miller said. &#8220Tiarra showed great leadership.”

Over the course of the game, there were 14 lead changes and 11 ties. The biggest lead for any team was six points, that coming early in the fourth quarter when Greenville went up 46-40.

WC shot poorly through the first three quarters, making just 14 of 45 shots. They also had problems, keeping the Honeybees off the offensive boards.

&#8220We gave up too many rebounds,” Fuller said. &#8220The two guards are so quick, that when they penetrated, we’d go to help, and then the others would get position.”

WC led 23-22 at the half but Greenville opened the second half, making six of its first seven shots to go up 38-34.

WC found a rhythm in the fourth quarter, making 5 of 9 shots from the field to go with 5 of 6 makes from the free throw line. The last two baskets came from Willis with 49 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 52.

Greenville held for a last shot, but Stephanie Jackson missed a 1-on-1 drive and Janee Ford’s follow-up was short, forcing overtime.

Doyle finished with 19 points and Willis had 16. Lewis chipped in 16 for Greenville and was followed by Parker with 15 and Jackson had 10.

The Lady Vikes still have a chance to host the North State Tournament. If Tupelo beats Clinton and WC defeats Olive Branch, WC would be awarded the four-team tournament.