Saints headed to Troy

Published 12:00 am Friday, February 20, 2004

With their top-ranked Lady Saints team leading Auburn by just three after the third quarter

Thursday night at home, Selma Saints fans were uncharacteristically quiet.

They needn’t have worried.

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With Ashley Green and Santana Seay cutting to the basket like hot knives through butter,

the Saints slammed the door on Auburn.

By the time senior Kim Wilson fouled out with under a minute to play, Selma fans were chanting, cheering, and celebrating their way to a 75-64 Sub-Regional win.

Now, the 29-1 Lady Saints will begin Regional play next Tuesday at 12:20 p.m. in Troy.

Once again the Saints were incredibly balanced.

They were a bucket short of five players in double figures.

Seay and Green led the way, slashing to the basket with abandon.

Auburn seemed intent on taking away the inside game and contesting the outside shot. That left the middle open for the slashers.

Green led the team with 20 points and five assists.

Freshman Erica Lumpkin added 19 points and eight rebounds.

She hit a trio of 3-pointers, including a stretch where she and Auburn star Trevesha Jackson went back and forth from behind the stripe.

Seay added 18 points and five assists while Shameka Simpson scored 10, had five assists and four steals.

Wilson had eight points and 10 rebounds to go with four assists.

For Auburn, Jackson led with 30 points despite foul trouble.

Tanesha Studdard added 11 points and Star Dorsey had six for the game Auburn team.

Auburn matched Selma step for step through three quarters.

The Lady Saints had different players step up and lead at different times, but it wasn’t until Green and Seay took over in the fourth that the Saints put the game away.

The Saints jumped out to a 5-0 lead as Simpson hit a triple from the right corner and Lumpkin drilled a baseline jumper that was as soft as church music.

But Auburn battled back.

Dorsey hit a long three and Jackson scored helping Auburn take a 9-5 lead.

A Wilson steal to Green resulted in a layup, then Lumpkin hit a jumper.

A Seay free throw gave Selma the lead again.

Lumpkin stepped up with a pair of 3-pointers in the second, each answered a triple from Auburn’s Jackson.

In the third quarter, it was Wilson inside leading the way with six of her eight points.

Finally in the fourth quarter, nearly all the Lady Saints got in on the action.

Seay scored seven in the final frame, Green had six, Lumpkin had five and Simpson netted seven as well.