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The Briarwood Christian Lions stifled Sylacauga at every turn in their area semifinal matchup as they punched a ticket to Class 5A sub-regionals and the Area 8 title game behind an 18-point night from Emma Kerley. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – The Briarwood Christian Lions took care of business in the area semifinals with the gameplan that has worked for much of the season: let the defense pave the way for success.

Briarwood dominated the Sylacauga Aggies from early on until the final whistle, securing a 44-25 win on Monday, Feb. 3 at Briarwood Christian School in the Class 5A, Area 8 semifinals.

The win not only sets up a showdown with Shelby County for the area championship in two days’ time, but it books a spot in sub-regionals to put coach Lorie Kerley’s team in the field of teams battling for a Class 5A state championship.

While Sylacauga landed the opening blow from deep, it was the Emma Kerley show in the first quarter. She scored eight of her team’s nine points in the first quarter thanks to a pair of strong layups and a 4-for-4 run on the free throw line.

As a result, she helped the Lions take the lead and keep it down the stretch, increasing it to 9-6 in the final minutes of the first.

She got more help to start out the second quarter as Grace Garrett hit a transition layup and AT Baker knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to extend Briarwood’s lead to nine.

The Aggies could only convert once from the field in the second quarter, an and-1 with 5:28 to go, as the Lions brought the pressure and forced steals and turnovers to stifle Sylacauga.

That defensive effort proved crucial as Briarwood went the final 3:30 of the half without a basket but still went into halftime with an 18-10 lead as the Aggies scored just one free throw during that same time.

The Lions kept rolling in the opening stretch of the third quarter, using a Kerley basket and another Baker 3-pointer to extend the lead to 13 points just 1:06 into the second half.

Briarwood would led by double digits from then on and went up by 16 with 2:31 left in the third thanks to a Claire Anderson basket after Kerley triggered a Sylacauga timeout with one of her own just a minute earlier.

The Aggies responded to the Anderson make with a 7-1 run to draw within 10, but Garrett finished the quarter with a strong put-back to put the Lions up 33-20 ahead of the fourth quarter.

Baker opened the fourth quarter with her fourth 3-pointer of the night, extending the lead to 16, but it wasn’t a sign of things to come as the scoring pace dramatically slowed down with Briarwood up by a commanding margin.

The Lions worked their way to the free throw line repeatedly in the fourth and hit six free throws down the stretch. A pair of makes with 1:15 to go briefly put Briarwood up by 20, but Sylacauga slightly cut the lead down to 19 in the final seconds.

It wouldn’t matter much though because the Aggies couldn’t overcome the large hole that the Lions had dug, and Briarwood booked its spot in the next round as a result.

Kerley led the Lions with 18 points, and Baker added 13 points to join her in double figures. Garrett also finished with six points in the win.

Briarwood will now take on the Shelby County Wildcats on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. at Briarwood Christian School to decide the Class 5A, Area 8 championship. The winner will host a sub-regional matchup against either Valley or Elmore County on Friday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m.

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