COLUMBIA &8212; Back during October and early November when the Adams Christian girls were no longer a secret, they set their goals high.

Atop the list is making it to Overall. They&8217;re not there yet, but the Lady Rebels&8217; 53-49 win over Columbia Academy locked up the South State championship and one of the No. 1 seeds at next week&8217;s Class AA state championship at East Rankin Academy.

But they still could use some help &8212; they&8217;d love to know whether or not their South State crown is the first in school history, although everyone&8217;s hunch is it&8217;s a first indeed.

&8220;The kids played real, real well, and I&8217;m real proud of them,&8221; Adams head coach John R. Gray said. &8220;We&8217;ve got a good chance now (at Overall). If we come to play like we&8217;re playing now, we&8217;ve got a better-than-average chance of making it.&8221;

The Lady Rebels kept up with a defensive effort down low as best they could, although Columbia post player Taryn Magee still ended up with a game-high 24 points. Gray had to switch defenses to defend Magee and tall Sarah Slater down in the post, and it worked better in the third quarter as Columbia scored only six points.

By that time Adams Christian converted a 31-28 halftime deficit to a 39-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

&8220;That&8217;s where they hurt us,&8221; Gray said of the inside game. &8220;We went to a T defense &8212; three down low, one in the middle and one playing man. We had to combo it again to get the job done.&8221;

Katie Ann Swinny and Brittany Gamberi got shots to fall in the second half as the two combined for 31 points &8212; Swinny 16 and Gamberi 15. The Lady Rebels held a 14-12 edge in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

All-South honorees for AC were Ariana DeLaSalle, Swinny, Gamberi and Mattie Geoghegan.

Trinity Episcopal 31, Bowling Green 27

COLUMBIA &8212; The Lady Saints jumped out to a solid lead in the first half to not only put themselves in position to win but maybe more important &8212; avoid a first-round contest with powerhouse Leake Academy in the first round of next week&8217;s Class AA state tournament at East Rankin.

The Lady Saints (21-10) will go in as the No. 3 seed from the South after downing the Lady Bucs in the third-place game.

Trinity led 22-12 at halftime and 26-18 heading into the fourth quarter.

Mallory Archer led Trinity with 15 points. Archer and Brandy Hall earned All-South honors.

Claiborne 60, Tensas Academy 44

MINDEN, La. &8212; It was the game the Lady Chiefs had pointed to for the longest time, but things didn&8217;t go their way again against Claiborne Academy.

The Lady Rebels pulled away in the second and third quarters to beat Tensas for the second time this season and seventh time dating back to the start of last season.

&8220;We didn&8217;t come ready to play,&8221; Tensas head coach Chuck Bauerle said. &8220;After the first, we just did absolutely nothing for the next quarter and a half or a little longer than that. We just got our butts kicked &8212; long story short. We couldn&8217;t defend, and basically everybody was waiting around for something to happen.&8221;

Tensas (27-5) led 9-8 after one but was outscored 18-7 in the second to trail 26-16 at half and 22-11 in the third to fall behind 48-27 heading into the fourth quarter. Megan Bauerle had 19 points as the only Tensas player in double figures, and she made All-South along with Tabitha Howard.

Haley Spear had 23 for Claiborne as its guards continued to penetrate the lane in the halfcourt for buckets.

&8220;We didn&8217;t have an answer for it,&8221; Chuck Bauerle said. &8220;I knew we needed to press more, and we pressed them midway through the third quarter on, but we didn&8217;t have enough to finish it. But we&8217;ve been here before.&8221;

Glenbrook 51, Huntington 44

MINDEN, La. &8212; This one stayed as tight as it could get, and had it not been for a 30-second span when things went bad, the outcome could have been different.

That&8217;s what Hounds head coach David Boydstun pointed to when asked where things turned in the South State championship. With Glenbrook holding a two-point lead, the Hounds lost the ball twice, only to have the Apaches score each time.

The Hounds (27-2) couldn&8217;t recover.

&8220;It was nip and tuck the whole way,&8221; Boydstun said. &8220;We shut down their 3-point shooters. One little stretch of 30 seconds we turned it over two times, and that took care of us right there.&8221;

The Hounds ran into foul trouble early with Ples Arthur and Antonio Jordan each picking up third fouls. Jordan was already playing through a leg injury. The game was tied at 24 at halftime and 34 heading into the fourth quarter.

Ricky Dunbar led Huntington with 13. Dunbar, Brandt Bradley and Trey Corbett earned All-South honors.

Heidelberg 58, WCCA 28

PRENTISS &8212; The Rams (13-12) struggled early in the consolation game at South Central State and fell behind 14-4 after one and 37-22 heading into the fourth quarter.

Joseph Landry led WCCA with 14 points.

The Class A tournament was pushed back to Tuesday.