TOMBALL -- The Tomball Cougars bested the Bryan Lady Vikings in a battle of perennial softball powers making the best of rebuilding seasons.

Tomball sophomore right-hander Shelby Lancaster settled down for a 5-1 victory in the Class 5A area matchup before 300 fans Friday night at Tomball High School.

The Cougars advance to play the Spring-Stony Point winner in regional quarterfinal action. Spring won Friday night's opener in a best-of-3 series.

Tomball coach Benita Dunlavy won a coin flip for a one-game playoff instead of a best-of-3 series, and Lancaster eventually showed why.

Bryan's Calli Wood and Michelle Stratta singled with one out in the fourth with the score tied at 1.

"We felt pretty good about what we had coming up," Bryan head coach Enrique Luna said.

Ashley Lara, who had homered in her first at-bat, bounced a shot to the right of sophomore second baseman Chris Martin, who snared the ball and almost started a double play.

Martin then handled Jennifer Saxby's grounder to end the threat.

"That was huge," Luna said. "They came up defensively with back-to-back plays."

Lancaster retired nine straight as her teammates built a 5-1 lead.

"I think they settled her down," Luna said. "She's still a sophomore, and that's the scary part. I think she was a little shaky there at that time."

Her teammates gave her reasons to relax.

Tomball's Kelsi Meadows singled into right field just off the glove of outstretched second baseman Allison Ricke with two outs in the fourth to score Haley Hughes, who had doubled. Meadows, one of only three Tomball seniors on the roster, had doubled in her team's first run in the second.

The Cougars added three runs in the fifth.

Alyssa Bass started it with a pop-up bunt single just short of the shortstop. Michelle Quinn followed with a single, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch.

Martin ripped a two-run single off the glove of pitcher Stratta that just eluded shortstop Ashley Lara.

Sophomore Shelby Wallace added an RBI double.

"It was their night," Luna said. "They hit the ball well, and they played well defensively. They made the plays when they needed to."

Lancaster did the rest.

"She seems to get stronger as the game goes on," Tomball head coach Benita Dunlavy said. "I think when there's a challenge, she stands up for it and faces it."

Tomball, which finished fourth in District 16-5A, evened its record at 13-13, and Lancaster has all the decisions. She pitched Tomball to 3-2 and 1-0 victories over 15-5A champ Magnolia in bi-district.

"She's young, but every game she gets stronger and I think she gets smarter," Dunlavy said.

Senior catcher Kayla Gutowski did a great job handling Lancaster and gunned out two runners.

Gutowski threw out Kristin Lara trying to steal second in the first inning, then picked off first sister Ashley Lara who reached on an infield single in the seventh.

"I think our pitcher is stronger now," Dunlavy said. "Our chemistry is working. We're finally getting into [some] consistency. And Kayla has worked real hard with her.

Ashley Lara got Bryan off to a great start with a line drive homer in the second.

Stratta pitched a complete game, striking out six and walking one. She retired the side in order in the first and sixth innings, striking out four.

Lancaster didn't retire Bryan in order until the fifth.

"We just didn't get the timely hits," Luna said.

Bryan, the third-place finisher in 13-5A, ends at 21-13.

"Every loss was to a playoff team," Luna said.

The Lady Vikings lost a pair of one-run games to 13-5A champ A&M Consolidated, but rebounded for a bi-district championship by beating 14-5A runner-up Leander.

"I just told them to keep their heads held high," Luna said. "We had a great year -- we overachieved, after losing seven starters off last year's team."

Bryan started five seniors -- Stratta, catcher Wood, center fielder Kristin Lara, right fielder Amber Binder and designated hitter Courtney Ford.

Underclassmen accounted for three of Bryan's five hits with sophomore third baseman Saxby adding a single.

NOTES -- Bass' bunt that started the fifth was ugly but effective. Ironically, five players from both teams failed in tries to sacrifice bunt. ... Tomball's baseball team grabbed a 4-3 victory over The Woodlands on an adjoining field in the opener of a best-of-3 baseball series despite getting outhit 9-4.