Selma (11-1) rallied from 10 down to defeat Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 44-41 Tuesday night in a game that will likely help decide where the class 6A, area 6 tournament is played this season.

Jacquetta Dailey scored 21 points and made the game’s two biggest plays in the final minutes. She assisted to Ta’Sharri Grimes for a layup to put the Saints up 42-41. Following a Hillcrest miss, the Saints held the ball for over two minutes while the Patriots sat back in the zone.

When Hillcrest decided to pressure the ball, Dailey went to the rim and made a layup with 28 seconds left to put the Saints ahead 44-41. Hillcrest missed a 3-pointer to tie it and Jamya Smith ran the deep rebound down the court for an easy layup in the final seconds to put the game firmly away.

“Good teams find a way to handle adversity,” said Selma head coach Anthony Harris, while pointing to where he wrote that same phrase on a white board in the team’s locker room. “That’s been up there all year.”

The Saints needed to keep it in mind Tuesday.

Selma has high hopes this season, but the first goal is to win the area and make sure the area 6 tournament is played at Selma High School. Without a win Tuesday, that would’ve been a tough task with a road trip to Hillcrest and two games with Paul Bryant remaining.

Selma trailed 23-13 in the second quarter and again by 10 early in the third quarter. Dailey made sure Selma stayed in it. She scored 10 points in the third quarter and stayed aggressive. She shot six free throws in the quarter and at one point got to the line on back-to-back possessions.

At the end of the third quarter, she dove on the floor for a steal but fell on the sideline before she could get the ball back in play. On the ensuing inbound play, Dailey dove to the floor again, but this time she came up with the ball too. From the ground she passed to Kynadra Lewis, who made a layup to pull Selma within four.

“She has stepped up and the other four have got to meet her intensity,” Harris said. “Her eyes are on the prize. If everybody else can just rise up a little bit, we will be OK.”

A trap led to an Areyana Williams layup to pull Selma within 39-37. Smith knocked down her third 3-pointer of the night with 5:50 left to put the Saints up 40-39. Hillcrest answered with a layup by Demaurea Moore, but Grimes’ answer put Selma up for good.

Smith was the only other Selma player in double figures with 11 points.

The Saints will play at Southside on Friday night.

 

Hillcrest 47, Selma 38 (Boys)

Selma (7-5) was within striking distance all night against Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa Tuesday night in a key class 6A, area 6 showdown.

Every time the Saints had a chance to pull within two or four, Hillcrest either made a big shot or Selma would miss a free throw or layup. All the missed opportunities added up to a 46-37 win for Hillcrest.

“We were right there,” said Selma head coach Woodie Jackson. “The game was ours to take but we just didn’t execute on some things, especially on the offensive end.”

Quentavious Davis led the Saints in scoring with 11 points and Ivan Williams chipped in another eight.

Selma trailed 14-8 after the first quarter and 23-19 at halftime.

In the third quarter, a Davis 3-pointer pulled Selma within three again, but LaDarrius Scroggins knocked in a layup and got fouled to put Hillcrest back up six.

Kiwansis Jones and Kentravious White made jump shots to pull Selma within 31-29, but Hillcrest went on a 7-1 run to take back control.

Throughout the night, that continued to be the theme.

“We missed several layups and stuff under the bucket and that created a four point turnaround,” Jackson said. “We missed and they went down and scored.”