ROCHESTER -- Maybe it wasn't meant to be.

Maybe the Austin girls' basketball team, rated fifth in Class AAA and seeded atop the Section 1 bracket, wasn't supposed to beat Winona. Maybe the third-seeded Winhawks were playing with a purpose greater than that of Austin. Maybe the third time truly is charmed.

All those maybes will be easy for Austin to ponder after the Packers were upset in Friday's Section 1AAA finals, 44-39, by Big Nine Conference rival Winona at the Mayo Civic Center.

AHS had defeated the Winhawks twice during the regular season and appeared destined for the school's first state tournament appearance since 1976 -- the premier year of the girls' state basketball tournament in Minnesota -- after winning a share of the Big Nine title for the first time since 1978.

But the Winhawks had different ideas, and from the opening tip it was obvious that Winona was a different team than the one Austin remembered.

"They've improved definitely since the last time we played them," said AHS senior Amy Kelly. "In the second half we made a good run at them. They just made free-throws when they had to.

"It's definitely discouraging. We worked really hard, it's really a disappointing

feeling."

Winona strayed from its regular gameplan of man-to-man defense by throwing a 2-3 zone at the Packers, who became stagnant in the half-court set and played into the Winhawks' hands. Yet after trailing by as many as 10 in the third quarter, Austin made Winona earn the section championship -- and they did.

The Winhawks, who shot 58 percent from the line as a team entering Friday's section final, went 11-of-14 in the fourth quarter and 13-of-18 for the game to sustain Austin's charge. The Packers never led in the game, but got as close as two points twice in the last three minutes and had chances to tie on both occasions.

"We spent a lot of energy playing from behind the whole time," said Austin coach Gary Peterson. "They got the lead and were really able to control the tempo of the game."

Austin junior Keri Feller played an inspired game off the bench for the Packers, getting a jumper in the lane and a foul to cut Winona's lead to 39-37 with 2:41 to play. Feller missed the free-throw, and fellow junior Lisa Bue had the putback attempt roll off the rim. Winona answered with its only field goal of the fourth quarter as Leigh Rodgers -- who played the entire game -- got loose on a backdoor cut for a layup.

Bue scored Austin's next four points to get the Pack within 41-39 with 50 seconds left, but her free-throw miss nearly found Steph Eslinger's outstretched arms on the rebound. Austin was again forced to foul to stop the clock but Jessica Stoltz made both allotted free-throws.

Trailing by four, Austin hurried the ball back up the court before Bue's dribble was kicked into a loose-ball scramble. Cichosz came up with possession and hit 1-of-2 freebies with 5.8 seconds left.

"Winona played well," Peterson said. "Our kids fought hard and gave their hearts out there, and that's all you can ask for."

Winona got 16 points and seven rebounds from 6-1 center Betsy Tasca, who also blocked three shots and stayed out of foul trouble in contrast to the rest of the season. Tasca averaged 4.3 personal fouls entering the biggest game in Winona's girls' basketball history.

"We came out from the beginning of the game and played well," said Winona coach Mark Winter. "For some reason, I don't know why, we were really relaxed early on."

The Winhawks (15-10) began the game playing as the favorite -- calm, composed and patient. Winona used passing to break down Austin's 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone defenses, finding Tasca for a short jumper or layup.

"You've got to give it to Winona, they came out hard and gave it to us right away," Kelly said.

Bue finished with a game-high 22 points, including the 1,000th point of her career on a three-pointer with four seconds left in the third quarter. The three-point bucket appeared to lift the Packers heading into the last period, but the last-chance rally fell a few points short.

Bue became just the fourth player in AHS history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau, and youngest to reach the mark as a junior.

Rebounding had as much to do with Winona's tempo control as its free-throw shooting attributed to the victory. The Winhawks hoisted a 33-22 advantage on the glass, forcing the entire Packer roster to crash the boards.

"The girls did a great job rebounding and preventing them from fast-breaking," Winter said. "That was huge for us. We were really concerned that they were going to try and run us to death."

Instead Winona forced the Packers to play the half-court game, and the Winhawks won that aspect. WHS shot 15-for-31 from the floor while forcing Austin to 14-for-45 shooting. Tasca was 7-of-11 and Kayla Hall came off the bench for a couple close-range looks.

"We really felt they couldn't guard our posts," Winter said. "We didn't think they could contain them, so we were looking to pound the ball inside."

Tasca set the tempo with 10 of her 16 in the first half, and Hall had all seven of her points before the halftime break.

Aside from Bue's 22, no Packer scored more than five points. Laura Geffert threw in a three-pointer during the fourth-quarter rally and finished with five. Kelly and Feller each had four, senior center Steph Eslinger had three, and Brittney Erichson added one.

Both teams used just seven players during the entire game.

Six seniors -- Kelly, Eslinger, Caitlin Jurgensen, Nicole Turvey, Steph Sundberg and Amy Wollenburg -- dressed for their final basketball game. The remaining 10 players on the Austin roster are juniors.

"I'm definitely going to have a lot of regrets," Kelly said. "I felt like this after we lost in section tennis and I didn't want to feel like that again tonight. But that's just the way it goes."

AHS finished the season 21-5 overall with a share of the Big Nine Conference to its credit.

"It's so disappointing because we came so close," Coach Peterson said. "But the kids have to remember that we won a share of the conference. That's a major accomplishment. They have to remember the whole season."

Boxscore:

WINONA (44) -- Jenna Watts 1-2 0-0 2, Leigh Rodgers 1-2 0-0 2, Kayla Hall 3-5 1-2 7, Shannon Wing 2-5 2-2 7, Stacey Cichosz 1-4 3-4 5, Jessica Stoltz 0-2 5-8 5, Betsy Tasca 7-11 2-2 16.

AUSTIN (39) -- Caitlin Jurgensen 0-3 0-0 0, Brittney Erichson 0-1 1-2 1, Amy Kelly 2-11 0-0 4, Keri Feller 1-5 2-3 4, Steph Eslinger 1-4 1-2 3, Laura Geffert 2-4 0-0 5, Lisa Bue 8-16 4-6 22.

Winona1381013--44

Austin1141014--39

Three-pointers--Winona 1-4 (Wing); Austin 3-13 (Bue 2, Geffert). Field goals--Winona 15-31, Austin 14-45. Free-throws--Winona 13-18, Austin 8-13. Rebounds--Winona 33 (Tasca 7, Cichosz 6, Stoltz 6); Austin 22 (Bue 6, Eslinger 6). Team fouls--Winona 12, Austin 14. Fouled out--Geffert.