BIRMINGHAM, Ala. &045; The free-throw line was a lonely place for Southern’s Rolanda Monroe during the regular season.

She survived on the island, shooting nearly 69 percent for the Lady Jaguars, but if it had been up to head coach Sandy Pugh, Monroe might have been the first casualty to be voted off.

However, since the start of the 2004 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament, the 5-7 sophomore from Arcadia, La., has been cooler than the Fonz at the charity stripe.

She made all 16 of her attempts in No. 3 Southern’s 84-76 quarterfinal victory over No. 6 Alabama A&M and remained perfect with a 7 of 7 performance, including a pair with four ticks left, as the Lady Jags upset No. 2 Jackson State 48-47 at the Fair Park Arena Friday.

Southern faces No. 8 Mississippi Valley State in today’s final at 4 p.m. Valley, who knocked off top-seeded Alabama State Wednesday, cruised to a 76-75 victory against No. 5 Mississippi Valley State Friday.

&uot;I was trying to be relaxed, just follow through and finish up,&uot; Monroe said of her game-winning freebies. &uot;I feel confident now since we’ve been practicing free throws a lot during practice.&uot;

Monroe hit the big shots at the end and contributed 15 points, but it was the play of Ashley Blake, who tallied a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds, that churned Southern’s butter.

Freshman post Fredreika Lewis added 10 points and held &uot;Big Smooth&uot; Amie Williams in check.

&uot;Fed (Lewis) studied the scouting report and I was quizzing them on it,&uot; said Southern head coach Sandy Pugh, who makes her second appearance in a tourney final in four years. &uot;There were a couple of lapses, but Amie’s a great player and she’s gonna make plays.&uot;

Williams finished with eight points and as many rebounds, as Latesha Lee led the Lady Tigers (23-7) with 16 points and four assists.

After Southern pulled ahead, 34-32, at the 7:55 mark off a Monroe steal and layup, the Lady Jags grinded to maintain their advantage.

&uot;This tournament is all about survival,&uot; Pugh said. &uot;I told the kids before the game if they wanted to stay, they had to play like it. I’ve thought all year long, this team was capable of stepping up and doing big things.&uot;

Lee single handedly brought Jackson State back from a 42-38 deficit, pouring in nine consecutive points to put the Lady Tigers up 47-46 with 17.6 seconds left.

Southern brought the ball up, called a timeout and Pugh devised a play for Lewis on the sidelines. Monroe drove baseline, leaned into JSU’s Shante Stanford and drew the contact with 4.2 ticks showing.

NO FAMILY AFFAIR &045;&160;The Southern victory left open the possibility of a women’s championship final pitting first cousins against one another.

Southern’s Monroe and Grambling’s Scherwanda Boston, two of the more prolific scorers in the tournament, have waged battles since they were dribbling a ball above their heads.

Each had more than 30-point outbursts during Wednesday’s quarterfinal matchups, with Boston’s 34 topping Monroe’s 33. Boston once again bettered her younger cousin, scoring 21 against Monroe’s 15 in Friday’s semifinals.

However, Monroe got the &uot;W,&uot; and Valley’s implausible comeback victory put a nix on the opportunity of Boston joining her in the title game.

LIGHTS OUT &045; Overlooked in the impressive defensive performance Alcorn displayed in its shocking 67-66 victory against Mississippi Valley State Thursday was the way it shot the ball.

The Braves were a season-best 22 of 38, or 57.9 percent, from the field, burying 7 of its 13 3-pointers.

What was more important was Alcorn’s unfailing knack to come up with big baskets and/or go on runs each time Valley pressed close.

After the Braves capped an 8-0 run to move ahead 54-46, Valley answered right back, drawing within 54-50 after an Edward Mack layup with 2:29 left.

Unfazed, Alcorn ran off six straight to put the game away before the Devils made a late charge on a swarm of 3s.

&uot;We knew how big this game was, playing the No. 1 team in Valley,&uot; said Brave point guard DeAndre Jones, who led his team with 14 points. &uot;I never wanted to rush the ball up. I didn’t want to slow it down, just wanted us to be calm when we got in our set.&uot;