ATHENS — SALINA, Kan. — Tawanna Lee was in a pressure cooker.

There she stood, in front of about 250 fans — mostly from Trinity Valley — toeing up to the free throw line and trying to spoil the trip of the upset-minded Kilgore Lady Rangers at Cardinal Gym on Jan. 9.

Just seconds earlier, Lee — a St. Rose, La., native — passed up a three-point shot, drove to the hoop and hit a layup while getting fouled to cut Kilgore’s lead to 56-55.

With 3.6 seconds left, the game was in Lee’s hands. All she had to do was  hit the ensuing free throw, tie the game and send it into overtime.

Only problem was, she missed. Final score: Kilgore 56, TVCC 55.

“I was hurt,” Lee said recently. “I was hurt for my team. We were supposed to get that win. We weren’t supposed to lose, and I kind of felt like it was all my fault because I missed that free throw.”

You can pretty much count on a closed fist the times Lee — known as T-Lee to teammates and coaches — came close to letting anyone down on the court again.

Lee, a shooting guard, has played a key role in helping the Lady Cardinals (28-5) return to Salina with a chance to win a national championship. The Lady Cardinals’ quest for a sixth national championship begins Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. against Walters State (25-2).

At the regional tournament, T-Lee — who averaged nearly 14 points per game during the regular season — was money. She scored 12 points in each of her team’s three victories, including in the Lady Cards’ 88-71 win over Tyler in the regional championship game. She also averaged seven assists per game and just 2.6 turnovers — not a bad number for someone who handles the ball as much as she does.

“Once she missed those shots (against Kilgore), she felt like she let the team down,” TVCC Interim Head Coach Elena Lovato said. “She was kind of a head case in practice the next couple of days. I remember telling her, ‘Hey, you’re the best shooter on the team.’ ... I think she just had to know in her mind that free throws are very mental.

“If you don’t believe in your shot, and in yourself, it’s hard to knock those down.”

Irony found its way back to Cardinal Gym just a week later, when Lee got a chance to show she had more than recovered from the Kilgore game.

Angelina came to Athens with a 17-1 record, a No. 16 national ranking and a mind to prove it was ready to take its place among the Region XIV Conference’s top teams.

The actual game proved to be as good as it looked on paper. The game went into overtime, and the lead changed hands seven times before Lee — a 73.5 percent free throw shooter — got a chance to redeem herself.

Angelina was called for traveling as the clock wound down, and Lee was fouled on TVCC’s next possession. She went to the line in the bonus situation with the Lady Cardinals trailing, 88-86.

“I was like, ‘I was just in this situation. I don’t want to miss these free throws,’” Lee said.

Lee said her hands were sweating in the moments before she stepped to the free throw line. Then Head Coach Bill Damuth tried to calm her nerves, telling her, “You’re about to hit these free throws.”

So she toed up to the line, drowned out the crowd ... and nailed both shots to tie the game at 88-88.

Moments later, after another Angelina turnover, Lee went to the line again with a chance to win the game.

She missed the first, but nailed the second.

Final score, in overtime: TVCC 89, Angelina 88.

“I was so excited,” said Lee, who called home to tell her family she had hit the game-winning free throws. “I was just happy for the team. We worked so hard that week just to beat Angelina.”

The hard work really gets a chance to pay off this week. And should the Lady Cardinals be in a game-deciding moment, Lovato would love to have T-Lee at the line shooting for the win.