A free throw by Bria Harris with 4.5 seconds remaining in overtime here Tuesday night gave the Bainbridge High School Lady Cats a 58-57 victory over the Harlem High School Lady Bulldogs and a berth in the Elite Eight of the state Class AAAA basketball tournament.

The game was tied 55-55 at the end of regulation.

When Harris hit her free throw, the Lady Bulldogs called time out and both teams set their strategy before she stepped to the line for her second attempt.

The second attempt bounced off the rim and Lady Cat Alexis Burke grabbed the rebound and dribbled out the clock.

“I told our players to press if Bria missed the second shot,” Lady Cats head coach Latreisha Moon said after the game. “I knew we still had a foul to give before they got in the one and so I told them to foul if they had to. Thankfully the ball bounced out to Alexis.”

The Lady Cats open Elite 8 play with a Friday 4 p.m. game against the winner of today’s game between Dutchtown and Hardaway of Columbus at Dutchtown.

Overtime began with Burke hitting a jumper from the left side with 1:08 remaining. Chade Martin hit a layuup off the left glass with 40 seconds left to tie it up 57-57 and set the stage for Harris’s game-winning free throw.

The Bearcats featured a balanced scoring attack with three players hitting in double figures. Burke led the way with 19, Zaikia Dawson, who drove in for several key second-half layups, added 13 and Harris put in 11.

The Lady Bulldogs were led by Nicole Wells with a game-high 35. Martin had 12 and Ebony Wells had 11,