Sorry to be the devil's advocate (just call me Beelzebub ... sung like Queen [1])

There may be other factors. Hiring is complex. They could have judged tbis fairly and they may have had a better candidate. Having a project like this should probabilistically increase your chances.

[1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ&pp=ygURYm9oZW1pYW4...