For all intents and purposes, Saturday night’s game may as well have been an area tilt for the Selma High School Lady Saints.

Selma continued its push toward the upcoming area tournament Saturday night with a dominating 64-34 victory over the Keith Lady Bears.

Selma used a strong, pressing defense to control Keith from the opening tip-off to the final whistle. Keith had absolutely no chance of keeping up with Selma, as the Lady Saints quickly opened a double-digit lead and led nearly the entire game.

Keith took its only lead of the game when Julia Moore’s three-pointer from the left corner gave the Lady Bears a one-point advantage.

However, Selma’s deficit would not last long. And when it was gone, it was gone for good.

Selma forward Santana came away with three steals in the opening quarter, the last ending in an Erica Lumpkin baseline jumper to extend the Lady Saints’ advantage to 14-4.

Keith narrowed the gap to five on a lay-up by Latoria Gray and a Van Lisa Jones three-pointer. But Amina Wofford sank four consecutive free throws and Selma regained an 18-9 lead.

The Lady Saints continued their pressing defense in the second period, and Selma’s hard-nosed play paid off in a 6-2 run. Seay sparked the mini-run when she intercepted a Keith pass in front of the Lady Saints’ bench, then dribbled cross-court, where she sank a jumper from the left corner to up the Lady Saints’ cushion to 22-11.

Senior point guard Ashley capped the run with a jumper from the top of the key to make it 24-11.

Green added a pull-up jumper from the foul line to give Selma its biggest lead of the half at 33-16. The Lady Saints led 34-20 at intermission.

Selma’s pressure and Keith’s inability deal with it continued in the third period. When Keith tried its own press, the Lady Saints had an answer for that, too.

Jasmine Yates slipped between two defenders in an attempted Lady Bears’ trap, then hit a leaning jump shot to increase the Selma lead to 42-25. The Lady Saints controlled after three periods, 46-30.