The Lady Hornets painted themselves into a late corner again, but they couldn't come up with a finishing rally to extend their season.
No. 3 seed Fulton outscored No. 2 Warrenton 22-17 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough for the Lady Hornets to overcome a 14-point deficit in the final 8 minutes of Thursday night's 54-52 loss in the Class 4, District 8 semifinals.
"It was kind of the same as it's been lately," Fulton head coach TJ Quick said Friday. "It was almost like we were waiting around and there was no sense of urgency.
"Then we get down to the last three minutes and kick it in, and it's go time, but we ran out of time."
The Lady Hornets trailed 37-30 entering the fourth quarter and junior guard Sloane Totta made it a six-point game when she made the first of two free throws. The Lady Warriors, though, appeared to take control when they answered with an 11-3 run, opening up a 48-34 advantage after Hannah Sutton hit a pair of free throws.
Warrenton then had a comfortable 50-38 lead when Sutton connected on two more free throws. Fulton, however, wasn't done, countering with an 11-2 binge to cut its deficit to three points. Junior forward NaShayla Brandt's basket brought the Lady Hornets within 52-49.
Sutton knocked down another pair of free throws late in the contest to give the Lady Warriors a five-point edge. Brandt buried a 3-pointer just before the buzzer sounded, curbing Fulton's comeback.
"We have to learn how to play with a sense of urgency for the entire game," Quick said. "That seemed to be our Achilles' heel the last month, month-and-a-half of the season.
"Against good teams like Warrenton and Kirksville, you're not going to get away with that."
Brandt was 9-of-19 from the field - including 3-of-5 from behind the arc - to direct the Lady Hornets with a game-high 25 points. She also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds as Fulton was outrebounded by a 34-26 margin.
Totta produced all 16 of her points in the second half on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Fulton shot 42 percent (20-of-48) as a team and committed 10 turnovers.
Sutton sparked Warrenton with 19 points and Jenny Jansen added 17. The Lady Warriors shot 40 percent (16-of-40) from the field and had 12 turnovers. Warrenton was just 57 percent (17-of-30) from the free-throw line overall, but made 13-of-20 attempts in the fourth quarter to clinch its victory.
The Lady Hornets, meanwhile, ended their season with a 16-11 record, their first winning season and most victories in Quick's four-year tenure.
"At the end of the day, our goal was to win a district championship and we didn't do that," Quick said. "You hate to settle and fall short, but 16 wins is nothing to hang our heads about.
"We have some unfinished business; maybe that will be our motto next year. We have the team and the talent to win a district championship."
Warrenton (17-7) went on to capture the District 8 title with a narrow 50-48 victory over top-seeded Kirksville on Friday night. The Lady Warriors will play St. Charles West (20-6) in a Class 4 sectional Tuesday night at Francis Howell Central High School in St. Charles.