One of the best seasons ever for the Thorsby girls basketball program ended Thursday with a 48-43 loss to Ohatchee in a Northeast Sub-Regional game.

Thorsby couldn’t have asked for more: two talented teams playing a back-and-forth game in front of a large, vocal home crowd.

“I thought these girls gave this community something to be proud of,” Thorsby coach Ab Argent said after the loss. “We’re glad the crowd showed up, and I don’t think the girls disappointed them.

“Our girls fought their rear ends off. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

The Thorsby fans that gave the team an ovation when it emerged from the locker room probably shared Argent’s sentiment.

The Rebels (21-2) faced large deficits at several points of the game but fought back each time.

The visitors went on a 10-0 toward the end of the first half and led 22-13, but Thorsby’s Sharonda Cooper scored five points in four seconds to get Thorsby back in the game.

Cooper, with 18 points, and Amanda Hubbard, with 15 points, did most of the damage for the hosts.

Thorsby led 29-26 at the end of the third period, but Ohatchee (24-6) took a 46-40 lead with 52 seconds remaining in the game on a strong drive by Jasmine Crook that resulted in the bucket and a free throw.

Hubbard drained a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to keep hope alive, but a free throw by Ohatchee’s Laneshia Anderson iced the victory.

Crook, who scored a game-high 25 points, and Anderson, who dominated the paint most of the night, posed problems for Thorsby.

“We knew coming in we couldn’t let 23 and 34 (Crook and Anderson) beat us,” Argent said. “Late in the game, we just couldn’t…Big-time players step up in big-time games, and that’s what they did.”