Two tense, dramatic games went down to the wire in the opening round of the Class A girls basketball district at Ypsilanti High School on Monday night.

In the first game, Ypsilanti pulled itself out of a 16-point halftime deficit to beat Lincoln, 60-53. And in the second game, Saline was knocked out of the tournament, 49-46, in a game that was in doubt until the final buzzer sounded.

Saline's Amanda Price posts up during the Hornets' 49-46 loss to Monroe in a Class A district at Ypsilanti High School Monday night.

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Baxter

Lincoln coach Mike Hotchkiss said his team played its best basketball of the season in the first half against the Phoenix. The game was tied 14-14 after the first quarter, before the Railsplitters jumped all over Ypsilanti in the second quarter, outscoring them 23-7.

Ypsilanti (12-8) fell into the trap of thinking that Lincoln, which Ypsilanti beat twice this season, wouldn't give them a fight.

The Phoenix rallied in the second half and finally took the lead for good with just under two minutes remaining. Ypsilanti, which hit 18 of 25 free throws on the night, slowed the game down and iced it at the line down the stretch.

The second game was a rematch from just three days ago. Saline had beaten Monroe last Friday, giving the Hornets a split in the regular season series with the Trojans, but Monroe avenged the loss in Monday's rubber match.

Saline's Emily Everett shot the lights out, hitting 5-of-6 shots behind the 3-point line, but she could only sit and watch from the sideline with her team desperately needing one more 3-pointer, after fouling out with 30 seconds left.

She left to a standing ovation from the Saline crowd, and a warm round of applause and shouts of encouragement from the Monroe faithful.