Down by as many as 11 points at one point, the Rudder girls basketball team battled back to beat Round Rock Cedar Ridge 70-55 to wrap up District 16-4A play.

A week ago, Cedar Ridge and Rudder each had one loss in district, and the 16-4A title looked like it would come down to the season finale at The Armory. Instead, Cedar Ridge lost two straight games before Tuesday's matchup, and Rudder now has a 16-4A title and eight-game winning streak heading into the playoffs.

"You want to go into the playoffs on a positive note," Rudder coach Michael Stenseth said. "You want to have momentum on your side. Even though it wasn't for the title, it was played and competed like it was. If they had played like that last week, they would have never lost, and it would have come down to tonight."

A back-and-forth first quarter ended with the teams tied 12-12, but Cedar Ridge (25-10, 12-4) used a 15-5 run to take the lead while Rudder (15-1, 30-5) had trouble getting into its offense. The Lady Rangers rallied to tie the game just before halftime, then Cedar Ridge hit a 3-pointer before the buzzer to carry a 30-27 lead into the locker room.

"We got rattled and we had opportunities to get frustrated and get down on ourselves, but like I've told the team, that's what playoff games are like," Stenseth said. "One team runs off 15 points in a row. The other team weathers the knockout punch and comes back to score 9 or 10, and it ends up being a game of runs."

Cedar Ridge started the second half on another run, this one 9-2, before Rudder again rallied to tie the score at 41. And when Rudder eventually took the lead in the third quarter, they did not give it up.

Fatima Adams led Rudder with 31 points, scoring many of them on putbacks. Adams was not with the Lady Rangers when Cedar Ridge beat Rudder 54-48 on Jan. 3.

"Fatima is convinced that when the ball goes up it's got her name on it," Stenseth said. "She goes and gets those rebounds. We probably got her the ball four times in a position to score. She goes and gets it and makes it happen."

Stenseth was worried he would have to limit point guard Lamaria Cole due to an ankle injury she suffered in Friday's game against Manor. Cole did not show any signs of injury as she led each of the team's comebacks, finishing with 12 points.

"I thought we were going to have to protect Lamaria a little better," Stenseth said. "She took a real bad spill, and it was a game-time decision as to whether she would play or not. She played well, so I think we'll be fine."

Rudder will face 15-4A's fourth-seeded Lancaster in the bi-district round of the playoffs at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Waco Midway.

"It's going to be a tough matchup for us," Stenseth said. "They are a perennial state champion in track, so they do have speed. It'll be a good matchup. It's the playoffs, and we are playing for keeps now."

Rudder 70, Cedar Ridge 55

CEDAR RIDGE (25-10, 12-4) -- Kryshona Carter 1 4 1-1 1 15, Melina Merritt 2 2 1-2 0 11, Hannah Riojas 0 3 0-0 3 9, Destiny Martinez 1 0 5-6 4 7, Kiara Darling 2 0 1-4 2, Courtney Brown 2 0 0-0 3 4, Ebony Brown 0 0 4-6 1 4.

RUDDER (30-5, 15-1) -- Fatima Adams 8 1 12-14 3 31, Lamaria Cole 5 0 2-2 1 12, Tyjha McGee 3 0 3-4 2 9, Marche Amerson 4 0 0-0 2 8, Jalicia Dunn 1 1 0-0 1 5, Ke'Asia Williams 1 0 2-4 2 4, Ebony James 0 0 1-2 0 1.

Rudder 12 15 23 20 -- 70

Cedar Ridge 12 18 11 14 -- 55

Next: Rudder takes on Lancaster in Bi-District round of playoffs, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Waco Midway.