AURORA – On the verge of an upset victory over No. 19-ranked (Class 2A) South Ripley Tuesday night, South Dearborn girls basketball stumbled at the finish line to lose a 54-53 heartbreaker.

Settling their season mark at 7-7 following the previous Thursday's 56-23 home romp over Oldenburg Academy, coach Bob Bressert's Lady Knights held a seven-point lead over Brian Samples' Raiders (12-4) with little more than one minute left.

SD junior Ellen Barrett scored a game-high 21 points, including her team's first 10 in the third quarter en route to 12 in the period, in a close contest led by the Knights most of the way.