BAY MINETTE, Alabama — Down 12 points at the half, Baldwin County nevertheless carried the momentum into and out of the locker room after the break. The Lady Tigers then continued to surge ahead of Northview for a 54-49 sub-regional 6A victory at home Thursday.

The Lady Tigers (15-9) will now travel to the Dothan Civic Center for the South Regional Sweet-16 Tournament Wednesday where they will meet seventh-ranked Murphy (25-5).

The visiting Lady Cougars had built a 26-7 lead five minutes into the second period thanks mostly to the 17 first-half points posted by NHS star Jasman Hamilton. But a steal and layup by Denosha Maye sparked a 7-2 Lady Tiger run aided by three NHS turnovers to lift the BCHS spirit.

“That was big. What we needed right then,” said BCHS head coach Robert Wills about the turnaround. “Nothing was going our way much before then. But we knew what to do and how to do it. Maybe it was jitters, some of these girls had not been in a game situation like this. But I’m really proud of how they responded. They just kept playing hard and eventually we turned things around. So, I hope it serves as a good lesson. As long as you keep working and don’t quit, you can come back and win. (Hamilton) is a great player, but we adjusted to her the second half. We also just found our defensive strength in the second half and benefited at the other end. Latia and the Maye’s girls made some big plays, too. But I’m proud of everybody for not giving up. Very proud.”

Baldwin County and Northview traded buckets in the first four minutes of the third period, but after Hamilton hit her fourth 3-pointer of the night, the Cougars cooled and the Tigers went on a 7-0 run to close the NHS lead to three, 35-32, to start the final quarter. Maye cut the margin to one with a mid-range jumper and followed with a trey from 11 O’clock to give BCHS a lead for the first time since Savannah Hollis opened the game with a short jumper. With 7:27 left in regulation the Tigers led 37-35 and never trailed again.

Maye, Hollis and Latia Pullum then combined for and converted on six fourth-quarter steals to set a 46-41 advantage with five minutes remaining. Hamilton‘s final bucket made it a 3-point game with 3:55 to go, but BCHS outscored the Cougars down the stretch.

Hamilton finished with 28 points to lead the Cougars and the floor. Pullum led Baldwin County with 23 points, Darnesha Maye added 15 and Denosha May 10.

ROBERTSDALE GIRLS BEAT ENTERPRISE: Robertsdale’s Lady Golden Bears (15-13) also got a South sub-regional win at Area 4 winner Enterprise (15-15) Thursday. RHS advances to meet Blount (27-4) at the Dothan Civic Center for first-round regional play Wednesday at 9 a.m.