A nine-point fourth quarter lead was gone. One of their star players fouled out in the closing minute of regulation. And their undefeated and higher-seeded opponent went on a sudden heater.
Essentially, Thomas Jefferson's check engine light came on as a lively WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball quarterfinal turned toward overtime.
But somehow, the sixth-seeded Jaguars managed the adversity long enough to get past No. 3 Penn-Trafford, ruining the Warriors' perfect season and advancing with a 65-60 victory on Wednesday night at Norwin.
"We did everything the script would have said (to lose)," Jaguars coach Matt Gould said. "If you tell me all of that happens, we lose by 15.
"Everyone was locked in and focused. There was no bickering, and we weren't worried. That is a phenomenal team we just beat."
Thomas Jefferson (20-4), which lost in the preliminary round last year, advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2020 and will play No. 2 Peters Township (21-3) on Saturday.
Penn-Trafford (23-1), which went undefeated in the regular season for the first time since 1974, will join the Jaguars in the PIAA playoffs. The Warriors were seeking their first WPIAL semifinal trip since 2014.
"When we were down nine, I had a huge belief we could come back," Penn-Trafford coach John Giannikas said. "I am not surprised we came back. That's not a six seed we just played. They're really good, to their credit. They just made one or two more plays in overtime than we did."
Gould's message when things got hectic: "Just breathe."
That was after Penn-Trafford finally found its stride and finished regulation on a 9-0 run.
Alexandra Wilson had just scored on a pass from Maggie Spell to make it 59-50 with 2 minutes, 46 seconds to play.
Isabella Fontana hit a 3-pointer from the wing to cut the margin to four, and Kamryn Pieper came up with a steal near midcourt for the Warriors.
Spell, the Jaguars' top scorer with 21 points, was whistled for an intentional foul as she tried to wrangle Pieper with 59.3 seconds left.
Pieper fouled out in overtime.
Torrie DeStefano made two free throws and Hannah Weishaar capped a career game with a rebound and putback to tie it 59-59 with 44 seconds remaining.
A travel was called on the Jaguars and overtime ensued.
In the extra frame, Kylee DeAngelo scored on a drive, which was followed by a block by DeStefano.
Weishaar made 1 of 2 free throws, but Riley McCabe, who showed poise running the offense down the stretch, made a driving lay-in after the Jaguars erased over a minute from the clock.
Another travel was called on Thomas Jefferson, but it didn't phase the Jaguars, who did not allow a field goal in overtime, controlling the ball while in the bonus and outscoring Penn-Trafford 6-1.
"We have 10 girls, no JVs," Gould said. "Our other five were amazing this week at practice helping us get ready. They were Penn-Trafford, and they beat up our starters.
"Our girls executed exactly how we practiced."
Spell, who reached 1,500 career points as a junior, said the Jaguars were not fazed by Penn-Trafford's perfect record.
She was disappointed she couldn't play in overtime but was not worried.
"I had full confidence my teammates would pull it out," Spell said. "(The second five) beat us in practice. We wanted to run (Penn-Trafford's) shooters off the line and not let their bigs hurt us. It was just another game."
There were 18 lead changes and five ties before the final horn, and eight girls scored in double figures.
Wilson had 13, DeAngelo added 11, with three 3s, and McCabe chipped in 10.
For Penn-Trafford, Weishaar had 16, Lauren Marton 14, DeStefano 13, and Fontana 11.
Penn-Trafford led 15-14 after the first quarter and 32-28 at the half, building a seven-point advantage at 32-25 for its largest lead as Weishaar scored 11 before the break. She and DeStefano made back-to-back 3s in the closing minute of the half.
Pieper opened the third with a basket, but Wilson hit two field goals and McCabe scored to tie it 38-38.
After two more ties, reserve guard Emily Hritz made a 3 from the corner to stake Thomas Jefferson to a 47-44 lead after three.
The Jaguars led most of the fourth, going up by eight on a layup by McCabe and 57-50 on another 3 from Hritz before the Warriors made their comeback.
"This was like a semifinal or championship game," Gould said.
Said Giannikas: "People got their money's worth."
There were 35 fouls in the game -- 18 on Thomas Jefferson and 17 on Penn-Trafford.
The Jaguars made 11 of 15 free throws, while Penn-Trafford was 14 of 20.
"There isn't much more I can ask of our girls," Giannikas said. "We had a chance. It just wasn't our night. I couldn't be prouder of the kids.
"The season is not over. We'll give them a day off then get ready for states."
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at [email protected].