The Selma Lady Saints took control in the second quarter and held off a late comeback attempt, as they defeated the No. 9 Keith Lady Bears 49-41 at home on Friday.

Anthony Harris, head girls basketball coach of Selma High School (7-5), said his team played with great intensity and got big plays from senior point guard Kendra McCovery, who led all scorers with 20 points.

“We played hard, played to win, played pretty good defense. We got a good lead and before we left the dressing room we told each other that we’ve got to control the tempo of the game,” Harris said. “I just told them to keep playing hard. We got them [Keith] in foul trouble, too. McCovery, she stood up like a senior. She controlled the tempo. They all played to win and looked like Selma High girls basketball tonight.”

The Lady Saints trailed Keith (8-2, 1-0, No. 9 Class 1A) only once in the first half, as they went into halftime leading 24-17.

The Lady Saints pushed their lead to double digits going into the fourth ahead 35-23, but Keith fought back and cut into the lead and a 3-pointer by Stephanie Carson with 4:54 left to play made it a 38-33 game.

With Selma in the double bonus, Takeesha Wilson went to the line and hit two free throws for the Lady Saints that made it 40-33 with 4:21 left.

Carson hit 1 of 3 free throws after being fouled during a 3-point attempt, but Selma pushed its lead to 44-35 with 3:04 left.

Keith made one last run, as Harriet Winchester scored six unanswered points to make it 44-41 with 1:03 left to play.

The Lady Saints held off the run, as McCovery and Wilson scored the last five points for Selma.

Cecil Williams, head girls basketball coach of Keith, said his team just missed too many easy shots on the night.

“We just had a poor performance. We missed several easy baskets, at least ten easy baskets,” Williams said. “That’s about 20 points under the basket. We got the looks that we wanted, but we just didn’t make them.”

Wilson head 8 points for the Lady Saints, while Brenna Porter had 8 points and 7 rebounds for Selma.

Winchester led the Lady Bears with 16 points, while Lyteisha Phillips added 9 points for Keith on the night.

Selma will take the floor again on Saturday at rival Southside starting at 4 p.m., while Keith will face Class 2A No. 8 R.C. Hatch in Orrville starting at 5 p.m.