Amber Bepko hit a 3-pointer with 1:22 left in a second overtime, which lifted No. 9 Mercy to a 55-54 with No. 4 Career.

Bepko struggled early, but finished with 18 points. Danielle Machold led the Tigers with 19 points, 15 coming in the first half.

Bria Moore, whose 3-point attempt was off the mark as time expired, finished with 15 points for Career. J'Voni Hilton also had 15 points for the Panthers.

Mercy will play in its third state title game this weekend (either Friday or Saturday) against No. 3 Norwich Free Academy at Mohegan Sun Arena.

It's been a pretty impressive - and surprising - run for the Tigers. Mercy has knocked off top-seeded Lauralton Hall and the Panthers after losing two of the state's best players in Rachel Roberts and Bianca Simmons to graduation last year.

As for Career, the Panthers saw their string of three straight title game appearances come to an end. Career will likely be in the hunt again next season, as the Panthers will only lose Hilton to graduation.

For updated state tournament brackets, click here.

A balanced attack continues to lead Career. The No. 4 Panthers advanced to the Class LL semifinals 62-42 win over No. 5 Holy Cross. 

Nicole Bentley and J'Voni Hilton each had 12 points. Jasmine Claxton added 11 points, while Nicole Anderson and Bria Moore each chipped in with nine points.  

The Panthers outscored the Crusaders 19-6 to open the game.

In other Class LL action, No. 9 Mercy beat No. 1 Lauralton Hall 48-39, knocking out the first top seed this year.

Sadie Edwards and Amber Bepko combined for 41 points for Mercy.

Keylantra Langley poured in 23 points for Lauralton Hall, but didn't get much help. Nicola Matero added six points.

For the rest of Wednesday's results, check out the Register's updated brackets here.

No. 9 Mercy will look to knock off top-seeded Lauralton Hall tonight at 7:45 p.m. at Berlin.

Mercy coach Tim Kohs’ thoughts on the Keylantra Langley and the Crusaders: “She’s explosive. She’s a great player. She can score in so many ways. She’s a big guard and we don’t have big guards.”

Kohs said it’s a winnable game — if the Tigers can contain Langley, rebound the ball and control Lauralton Hall’s size advantage inside.

No. 9 Morgan will face top-seeded Brookfield in the Class M quarterfinals tonight at 6 p.m. at Middletown.

Huskies coach Joe Grippo’s thoughts on Brookfield: “They’re tough. I heard great things about her (Bobcats high-scoring guard Brittany Martelle). We’ll force others to handle the ball.”

Grippo on Morgan’s run so far: Some people criticize our league (Shoreline Conference), but it’s good basketball. Look at the SCC. All the teams are gone (in Class M). Playing in our league prepared us well for the tournament.”

For the rest of the quarterfinal matchups, check out the Register's brackets here.

During its Hoops 4 Haiti fundraiser Saturday, Mercy raised $650 for those affected by the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Donation jars, a raffle for UConn women’s basketball tickets, a bake sale and ticket sales from Saturday’s game against Hillhouse helped raise the money.

Former Mercy standout Rachel Roberts was supposed to redshirt this season, but instead she finds herself in Villanova's starting lineup. The Register's UConn women's beat writer Jim Fuller caught up with Roberts this past weekend. Read his story here.

Perhaps not with the same type of consistency, but Amber Bepko has replaced Rachel Roberts (now at Villanova) as Mercy's top scorer.

That was evident heading into this season. The question was, who was going to replace Bianca Simmons at point guard?

When watching Simmons (now playing for UMass-Lowell), the ball appeared to be attached to her hand with a string. She seemed to break through pressure and blow by a defender without breaking a sweat. She had a solid jumper and a knack for setting up teammates.

That's a lot to replace, but freshman Sadie Edwards has filled those shoes.

Edwards' game has a lot in common with Simmons. It was evident in Mercy's 49-47 win last night over Branford. She has tremendous ballhandling ability. The way she slices through the defense and finishes with a runner is reminiscent of Simmons. Not to mention, the fact that she makes her teammates better.

Edwards is averaging 13.1 points per game and she poured in 25 points against the Hornets in just her second varsity contest. She may the best freshman in the state right now.

And fortunately for Mercy coach Tim Kohs, Edwards is still scratching the surface when it comes to her potential.

Danielle Machold scored 14 points to lead Mercy to a 49-47 win over Branford Tuesday.

Weaver at Glastonbury, 7 p.m.: Latiqua Patterson and Weaver look to avenge an earlier loss this season against Glastonbury.

Lyman Hall at Career, 7 p.m.: Behind 31 points from Lindsay Karle, the Trojans handed the Panthers a surprising loss earlier this year. But Lyman Hall will be without Karle for this game because of a shin injury. They will have senior Jen Ruys back though.

Mercy at Branford, 7 p.m.: The Hornets dropped their season opener to the Tigers. Sadie Edwards and Amber Bepko torched Branford for a combined 50 points in that meeting. If the Hornets can slow that potent duo, the outcome may be different this time.

Mercy had its chances during the closing stages, but couldn’t capitalize.

The result?

A 49-45 win over the No. 6 Tigers for No. 3 Hillhouse.

Within striking distance, Mercy missed five of its final six free throws and had several good looks from the perimeter, which didn’t go down.

Hillhouse led most of the way, but never by more than six points.

Amber Bepko finished with 14 points to lead the Tigers. Bria Holmes led the Academics with 14 points.

In her second game back from her leg injury, Andreana Thomas played the whole game and finished with eight points. She hit two key 3-pointers in the final quarter.

Mercy dropped its first two games of the season at the Cardinal Spellman Holiday Tournament in Brockton, Mass, Monday and Tuesday.

While Tigers coach Tim Kohs said his girls played hard and are still capable of beating anyone on their schedule, Mercy's weakness was exploited. If the Tigers aren't shooting well from the perimeter, they are going to struggle. After opening the season with six straight wins - scoring over 60 points in all but one - the Tigers were anemic from the floor when they played in Massachusetts.

Mercy lacks a post presence, so that's why it needs to score from the perimeter. The Tigers' two tallest players are 5-foot-8 Amber Bepko and 5-foot-9 Sadie Edwards, essentially their backcourt.

But on the bright side for Mercy, the losses came to a pair of quality teams in Coyle & Cassidy (59-50) and Holy Name (51-42).

"They learned from it," said Kohs of the experience. "It gave us a reality check."

Also Bepko and Edwards are a very talented one-two punch and bad shooting nights will likely be at a premium for them this season.