In sports, the passing of the torch is inevitable.

But Thursday, Region 4’s current torch-bearer wasn’t ready to participate in the process.

A potentially game-tying jumper from Bowling Green’s Tiasha Coleman rimmed off at the buzzer and the Franklin-Simpson girls advanced to their fourth Region 4 Tournament championship game in five years with a 48-46 win over the Lady Purples in the regional semifinals at E.A. Diddle Arena.

“I think you may be right,” said Franklin-Simpson coach Lex Lindsey, when asked if the Lady Cats weren’t ready to step down from atop the region. “This group of seniors, along with (sophomore) Chastity (Gooch) and some of the other ones, I’m very proud of them.

“This was a hard-fought game with two very good teams, and I’m sure Barren County’s loving the fact that it went down to the last second, and it won’t be any easier (tonight) either.”

The Lady Cats face the Trojanettes at 7 p.m. tonight in the championship game for the right to advance to next week’s Houchens Industries/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet Sixteen at Diddle Arena. Franklin-Simpson and Barren County have won four of the last five regional titles – Franklin in 2008 and 2006, Barren County in 2007 and 2004.

In Thursday’s battle between the region’s two best regular-season teams, the defending champs burst out of the gate.

Led by an all state-caliber performance from Gooch, the Lady Cats (29-3) roared to a 23-9 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Purples used an 11-0 run to the cut the advantage to four in the second, but the Lady Cats grabbed the last six points of the half to take a 32-22 lead into the break.

In the first half alone, Gooch tossed in 19 points and grabbed six rebounds. The Lady Purples (26-3) struggled, shooting just 9-of-25 from the floor while turning the ball over 13 times.

Bowling Green made another charge late in the third, as a Marilyn Kallstrom basket at the 3:23 mark pulled the Lady Purples within six. But once again, Franklin-Simpson answered and pushed the lead to eight heading into the fourth.

— Click here for more photos from the Girls Region 5 games.

The lead reached nine midway through the fourth before yet another Bowling Green run. This time, a 9-2 spurt pulled the Lady Purples within 46-44 with 1:57 to go.

The Lady Purples had chances to tie on their next possession, but missed three shots. That gave Franklin-Simpson the ball and allowed Dominique Cook to sink two foul shots with 40 seconds to go.

But Adrienne Tarrence brought Bowling Green back within two just seconds later, when her offensive rebound and putback made it 48-46 with 26 seconds to play.

Cook then missed the front end of a one-and-one at the foul line, giving Bowling Green one last shot. The Lady Purples worked the ball around before Coleman lofted a shot from two steps inside the 3-point line – the ball rimmed out, sending the Lady Cats into a relieved celebration.

“Coach told us they were a really good team and we had to step it up on the defensive end,” said Gooch, who finished with 27 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. “I knew a lot of people ranked them ahead of us, but we felt like we had to come out and prove them wrong.

“It feels great, it’s awesome (to be going back to the region final) and it’s just a great experience.”

Lindsey said he and his team didn’t worry much about rankings. The Lady Purples finished No. 1 and Franklin-Simpson finished No. 2 in the final Daily News’ Area Top 10 Poll.

“We never even talked about that,” Lindsey said. “We talked about what we wanted to do against their press, what we wanted to do with man-to-man, and you saw what the first quarter looked like.

“But (Bowling Green coach LaVonda Johnson) made some changes and did some things I didn’t expect in the second half that slowed us down. … But we only had 12 turnovers for the game, and that’s why we won – we didn’t have turnovers.”

Johnson said the win doesn’t ruin the Lady Purples’ successful season. But at the same time, said that she wanted her team to remember what Thursday felt like.

“We had the longest winning streak in the state, we were ranked as high as fifth in the state, it’s only our third loss and it’s the most wins ever in school history … so they have a lot to think positively about,” Johnson said. “I told them to remember how this feels. Maybe it’s going to take a little bit more hunger and it really should leave a bad taste in our mouths.

“Because it sure leaves a bad one in mine.”

Drea Gooch added 10 point for the Lady Cats, while Kallstrom and Erica Smith finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Lady Purples. Tarrence ended her night with nine points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Franklin-Simpson has now won 42 straight Region 4 games and is 61-1 in its last three seasons. But tonight, the Lady Cats take on the last team to defeat them – the Trojanettes stunned Franklin-Simpson in the semifinals of the 2007 Region 4 Tournament.

“We’ve already discussed the fact that (tonight) is going to be tough,” Lindsey said. “We’ve already started discussing Barren County.”

FSHS 23 9 5 11 — 48

BGHS 9 13 7 17 — 46

FSHS — Cook 3, D. Gooch 10, Nolan 4, C. Gooch 27, Bryant 2, Lunsford 2.

BGHS — Tarrence 9, Lawrence 3, Sibalich 2, Smith 10, Lawson 9, Kallstrom 11, Coleman 2.