Shawnee ? The Baldwin High girls basketball team probably won’t have any love for the intentional foul after its 54-44 loss to Spring Hill in their Class 4A sub-state final on Saturday at Mill Valley High.

“This was the best we played against Spring Hill,” Baldwin coach Eric Toot said. “Both teams fought as hard as they could for 32 minutes. We met the challenge, but tonight we came up short.”

On Friday night, the Baldwin boys team’s season ended against top-seeded Spring Hill on the heels of an intentional foul with less than a minute remaining.

It was d vu for the Bulldogs (19-4) on Saturday as Baldwin senior Jodie Bacon was whistled for an intentional foul with 48.7 seconds remaining against Spring Hill (22-1), which led 47-44 at the time. The Broncos then connected on seven of eight free throws to seal the victory and earn a trip to Salina next week.

The loss was especially frustrating for Baldwin because the Broncos defeated BHS in the finals of the Gardner-Edgerton Tournament and in a regular-season Frontier League game.

Trailing 47-36, Baldwin scored eight unanswered points in 21.3 seconds prior to Bacon’s foul. Sophomore Emily Brown, who scored 13 of her team-high 15 points in the second half, nailed a three-pointer and converted on an old-fashioned three-point play during that stretch. Brown finished with 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Baldwin junior reserve Kayla Pringle stepped up for the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter as she canned a three-pointer and came up with two steals down the stretch.

“We realized time was running out and that we had to make our shots,” Brown said. “It was pretty frustrating, but we played hard.”

Baldwin struggled from the free-throw line, making only nine of 16 attempts while Spring Hill converted on 13-of-17 free throws.

Both teams missed layups and second-chance shots early, but the taller Broncos controlled the offensive boards.

Neither squad enhanced its reputation of being an elite offensive team as they battled to a 6-4 second quarter. The Bulldogs scored their first field goal of the second quarter on a Brown layup with 2:18 remaining.

The Broncos held Baldwin senior sharpshooter Colleen Kivett to one field goal while Baldwin managed to keep Spring Hill senior standout Megan Sullivan scoreless in the first half.

“They have a lot to be proud of,” Toot said of the Bulldogs. “Our goal was to get to Salina, but we accomplished a lot of other things. It was my pleasure to coach them.”

Spring Hill junior Jessica Hocker led the Broncos with 21 points.

Spring Hill 54, Baldwin 44

Baldwin 10 4 10 20 44

Spring Hill 16 6 15 17 54

Baldwin (19-4) Jodie Bacon 12, Emily Brown 15, Colleen Kivett 4, Casey Millstein 6, Anna Skaggs 4, Kayla Pringle 3.

Spring Hill (22-1) Jessica Hocker 21, Josie Gehrt 10, Charise Mellen 6, Megan Sullivan 8, Leah Roth 4, Holly Gault 5.