McKenna Haist was handed an ice cream sandwich following The Classical Academy’s 41-35 loss to Jefferson Academy in a 3A regional championship game Saturday.

But the senior point guard and the fourth-seeded Titans (21-2) may need a whole gallon to take the sting out of the loss, which snapped a 21-game winning streak and made sure TCA failed to advance past the round of 16 for the fifth straight year.

It was a rocky road all game for the host Titans, who finished 12-for-54 shooting.

“We just had too many balls rim in and out,” coach Paul Campbell said. “… What cost us the game is poor shooting.”

See photos from the game

And no misses hurt more than in the fourth quarter. Three shots rimmed out at the start of the period with TCA trailing 36-31. But the real dagger was Shanah Leaf’s strong move on the baseline that was stripped with just under a minute remaining and TCA down just three.

“Two more of those drop and we might win the game,” Campbell said.

The Jaguars ripped down the rebound and found Madison Page, who hit a fast break layup for a 40-35 lead.

Leaf’s free-throw attempts on the Titans’ next possession also found iron, and No. 20 Jefferson Academy (17-7) held on for the win despite going 11-for-23 from the free-throw line.

Page finished with 16 points, tying Nicole St. Clair for the game-high.

St. Clair scored nine points in the opening quarter as the Jaguars used their full-court press to disrupt any kind of flow TCA did find and took a 15-7 lead.

The Titans missed their first four shots as Jefferson Academy opened with an 8-1 run. TCA didn’t score until the 4:44 mark on a free throw from Leaf and didn’t make its first basket until 30 seconds later.

“We came out really nervous, but I felt we stepped it up in the second quarter,” Haist said.

The Titans pulled to within 20-17 at halftime while holding Jefferson Academy scoreless from the floor in the second quarter.

Haist tied the game at 20 with a 3-pointer on TCA’s first possession of the second half. It was the first of two ties forced by the Titans. A layup by Leaf, who finished with 13 points, at the 3:36 mark of the third quarter knotted it at 26.

But TCA couldn’t get over the hump, and the Jaguars closed the quarter on a 10-2 run for a 36-28 lead.

“We didn’t quite pull it off, but we were right there with them,” said Haist, who had 12 points — all on 3-pointers. “Kudos to Jefferson Academy. They went down and scored almost every time.”

Shanah Leaf puts up a free throw for TCA on Saturday. Photo by CRAIG BISACRE, THE GAZETTE