ROCKDALE -- In a breathtaking game, Ke'Asia Williams' shot finally gave Rudder some room to breathe.

Her 3-pointer at 3:13 of the second overtime pushed the Lady Rangers' lead over Round Rock Cedar Ridge to three points, clearing the path to the Class 4A Region II tournament with a 59-52 victory over the Lady Raiders on Tuesday at Tiger Gym.

The 3 was Williams' only bucket, giving Rudder (34-5) a 55-52 lead.

District 16-4A champion Rudder will make its first regional tournament appearance in 4A thanks to the victory over 16-4A runner-up Cedar Ridge (27-11), which completed its first season of varsity basketball before moving to 5A next season.

"What can I say? We're going to regionals," said first-year Rudder head coach Michael Stenseth, whose team did not allow a point in the second overtime. "If we hadn't won, it would have been a devastating loss, because I really felt like we were better than them. If we hadn't gotten rattled in the first half, we had some nice wrinkles we wanted to put in but didn't get to execute any of them."

The wrinkles weren't needed when Rudder ran through the second overtime smoothly. It was a high-energy game and there was a loud crowd for Rudder, whose team responded with key steals down the stretch.

The 34th victory was a personal milestone for Stenseth, who coached Valley Mills to a 33-3 record once. He got a big assist from Fatima Adams, who continued her exceptional postseason play with 26 points.

Rudder had to sweat out an extended period of time without point guard Lamaria Cole, who picked up her fourth foul in the third quarter.

"I knew my teammates would take care of business, and I just trusted in them to play good defense and good offense and finish the game," Cole said. "[Williams' 3-pointer] got me going and got the team going, and when that happens, it's most likely that we're going to get on a run."

They did.

In the second overtime, Cole hit two of three free throws and had a rebound and a three-quarter court assist to Adams to lock down the victory. Rudder got in position in the second overtime to run a spread offense, forcing Cedar Ridge players to chase them. That's exactly what the Lady Raiders did to Rudder for most of the game, and the strategy nearly worked.

When Kryshona Carter hit a 3-pointer just over a minute into the fourth period, she gave Cedar Ridge its biggest lead at 38-31. With 3:33 left, Rudder tied it on a steal and bucket from Cole. On three occasions in the fourth quarter, the Lady Ranges took the lead. The Lady Rangers moved ahead 45-42 on a turnaround shot by Adams. Cole later scored with 8 seconds left for a 48-46 Rudder lead, but Cedar Ridge sophomore post Courtney Brown grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a quick follow as regulation ended. Along the way, Hannah Riojas kept Cedar Ridge's hopes intact by calmly hitting both shots of a one-and-one at the free-throw line.

Rudder claimed a two-point advantage in the first overtime on clutch free-throw shooting from Adams and Marche Amerson, but Kiera Darling saved Cedar Ridge. Darling grabbed an offensive board and scored her only basket to tie the game and force a second overtime period.

Each of the first two quarters ended with dramatic plays, setting a tone for what was to come. Adams buried a long 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key to cut the Cedar Ridge lead to 12-10 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Raiders scored the last five points of the half for a 25-23 lead, finishing it with a coast-to-coast drive by freshman guard Carter.

Sophomore Melina Merritt hit the last two buckets of the third quarter, finishing a fast break at the buzzer to give Cedar Ridge a 35-30 lead.

Rudder 59, Cedar Ridge 52

RUDDER (33-5) -- Ebony James 0 0-0 1 0; Lamaria Cole 3 6-8 4 12; Marche Amerson 2 5-6 4 10 Ke'Asia Williams 1 0-0 0 3; Jalicia Dunn 1 0-0 1 3; Qui Johnson 1 0-0 1 2; Ty McGee 1 1-2 2 3; Fatima Adams 8 8-12 3 26.Totals: 17 20-28 16 59.

CEDAR RIDGE (27-11) -- Kryshona Carter 5 0-0 3 12; Destiny Martinez 0 2-4 2 2; Melina Merritt 8 0-0 4 17;Hannah Riojas 3 8-8 2 15; Courtney Brown 1 2-2 4 4; Amani Patterson 0 0-0 1 0; Kiera Darling 1 0-0 2 2. Totals: 18 12-14 18 52.

Cedar Ridge 12 13 10 13 4 0 -- 52

Rudder 10 13 7 18 4 7 -- 59

Next: Rudder will play Rockwall in the Class 4A Region II tournament at 6 p.m. Friday at the Garland Special Events Center.