Hays High senior guard Choon Hee Chae lives for hitting critical shots in the clutch.

When the Rebels needed a bucket to send a Hays CISD Classic Tournament winners’ bracket game into overtime, Chae delivered.

Her bucket, a three-pointer from the right wing at the buzzer, catapulted the Rebels to a critical win over the Austin High Maroons. It also was a key component that led the Rebels to claim a second place finish in a vaunted 24-team field.

“She lives for those kind of plays. She loves the spotlight,” Hays head coach Danny Preuss said. “If there’s a girl on my team that lives for moments like that, it’s her.”

Hays’ run in the Hays CISD tournament began with the Rebels dismantling Round Rock and San Antonio Walder in pool play.

Hays, led by Chae, senior post Jada Finister and junior guard Gabby Bosquez, outscored its two pool play opponents 112-48.

But the Rebels ran into stiff resistance against Austin High. Primarily, the Rebels had to find an answer for 6-foot, 3-inch center Mia Heide, whom Preuss said colleges are recruiting.

Hays effectively limited Heide’s presence as Austin took an 11-8 lead in the first quarter. Preuss said he installed a “brand new defense” in an attempt to defend Heide, which held slight success. Austin led 23-22 at halftime.

“It confused them for a while because no one wanted to shoot the ball,” Preuss said.

The challenge, he said, was the need to commit more than one defeander to Heide.

“For the most part, we did a good job. It’s tough when you have someone like that you can throw it to,” Preuss said. “That’s a good weapon to have and we don’t have that weapon.

The Maroons found success in the paint in the third quarter as they utilized their size advantage. The Maroons crashed the boards and snagged second and third chance opportunities on the offensive end.

Meanwhile, Hays’ offense became stagnant as the team struggled to find offense in midway through the third frame.

Changing pace in the latter part of the third period helped swing the tide for Hays. Hays pressured Austin High into several turnovers, which led to easy transition buckets.

Hays, which trailed 31-26 late in the third frame, rallied to take a 34-33 lead following a layup by senior Meagan Andrews.

But Austin wouldn’t go away and continued to keep pace. The Maroons resurged to take a 44-41 lead, then following another Hays rally, led 46-43 with six seconds left.

Chae’s buzzer-beater gave the Rebels a second chance in overtime they didn’t let slip away.

Hays outscored Austin 4-0 in the overtime session. Finister led the charge on defense with a critical steal, which led to a layup that gave Hays a 48-46 advantage.

Preuss said Finister “got physical,” leading to key rebounds and creating turnovers.

“Whether she didn’t think it, she was instrumental in that victory,” Preuss said. “Everyone thought Choon won that game, but you have to do the other things to put yourself in that positon.”

Hays closed the tournament with a 20-point win over San Antonio Madison to reach the championship game. But the Rebels fell to state-ranked Killeen Shoemaker in the Rebel Classic championship.

For Preuss, the tournament was a way to ready the team for district play, which began Tuesday at Vandegrift.

Having Bosquez back in the lineup helped Hays go 7-1 over the last eight games. Hays began the year 2-5.

“That makes a big statement. All they had to do was concentrate on Choon. If we’re playing a smaller team, they had to concentrate on Jada,” Preuss said. “We’re not anywhere where we want to be, but we’re getting a little better every game.”