COLUMBUS – Their championship quest came up just short.

The Callaway Lady Cavaliers had a four-point lead in the second half, but it was Lamar County rallying for a 52-46 victory to win the Region 5-AA title on Friday night at Spencer High.

Callaway, which finished second in the region for the second straight season, will host a state-tournament game next week.

“Achieving second place is something to be proud of, even though it’s not our goal,” Callaway head coach Deyano Martin said. “Sometimes you have a goal and you come up a little short.

“All in all, we still have a game to play next week, and we’ll be at home. You just have to move on. Somehow you have to move on.”

Chyna Cameron, Callaway’s outstanding senior post player, scored 20 points, with eight of those points coming in the fourth quarter.

Jasmine Dukes added 10 points for Callaway, and she hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to pull her team even.

The Lady Cavaliers struggled to find the basket early, and they trailed 10-4 after the first quarter.

“You have to come out ready to play four quarters,” Martin said.

The Lady Cavaliers got hit in the second quarter, scoring 16 points to make it a 20-20 game at the half.

Dukes hit two 3-pointers in the quarter, including the one at the buzzer to send Callaway to the locker room with some momentum.

In the third quarter, Qua Beasley hit a jumper with 5:20 remaining to give Callaway a 26-22 lead.

Callaway still had a three-point lead with less than three minutes remaining, but Lamar County went on a 12-2 run to build a 39-32 lead heading into the final period.

Callaway got as close as three early in the fourth quarter on a Cameron basket, but Lamar County scored the next four points to go up by seven.

Callaway came no closer than five points the rest of the way.