PELAHATCHIE &8212; Nevermind the situation, the boisterous fans on both sides of the gym and the repercussions if Mattie Geoghegan would actually miss two free throws with four seconds left.

There was that knee.

The Adams Christian senior post favored the knee most of the game and was a little limited down low, but when she went to the line with four seconds left she had to block that out along with everything else. The Lady Rebels had trailed most of the game, finally got a two-point lead and needed both free throws in the worst way.

She hit them both, and AC came away with a 56-52 win over a Trinity Episcopal team that fought from start to finish.

The Lady Rebels will play for the Class AA state championship at 2:15 p.m. today against Leake, while Trinity will play the consolation against Columbia at 1 p.m.

&8220;It&8217;s terrible,&8221; Geoghegan said of the knee she hurt in Wednesday&8217;s game. &8220;I just told myself it was nothing special (at the line), no pressure and picture the ball going through the net. (The knee) has been killing me, but when I got in the game the adrenaline turned on and I tried to block it out of mind.

&8220;But it&8217;s terrible now.&8221;

Like Geoghegan, the Lady Rebels (28-7) had to dig deep to pull this one off after posting a 49-37 win over Trinity last week at South State. The Lady Saints led by nine at one point and eight midway through the third quarter before the Adams Christian chipped away at the lead.

The Lady Rebels had to do it without standout junior Ariana DeLaSalle, who fouled out in the third quarter and limited her team&8217;s 1-2 punch down low.

&8220;I couldn&8217;t be more pleased with their effort and how they fought back from adversity,&8221; Adams head coach John R. Gray said. &8220;(Mallory) Archer was just unbelievable. I&8217;ve got to congratulate her and Coach (Melanie) Hall for the great game they had. We had to suck up everything they had to win this one. Best of luck to Trinity the rest of the way, and I really admire them.&8221;

The Lady Saints (22-11) got a bucket from Archer at the 3:15 mark for a 51-48 lead, but after that some shots rimmed out while Adams Christian chipped away. Brittany Gamberi hit a shot that cut the deficit to one, and Katie Ann Swinny hit two free throws at the 1:40 mark that gave the Lady Rebels their first lead since very early in the second quarter at 52-51.

Archer hit one of two free throws with 1:29 left to tie it up, but Swinny put one in off the glass underneath with 59 seconds left to break the tie. Trinity missed a shot from behind the arc on its next possession, and three shots underneath didn&8217;t go on in on its next trip down the floor.

The final minute was a complete turnaround from the first half when the Lady Saints hit seven 3-pointers.

&8220;I&8217;ve never seen it before where somebody had out-played somebody and lose on the scoreboard,&8221; Hall said. &8220;I thought our girls did a beautiful job. Again, I thank God for the opportunity to be here.

&8220;I can&8217;t say enough about our girls. We had a plan, and I thought we executed the plan very well. I thought the difference was free throws &8212; they hit some free throws, and we missed some.&8221;

The Lady Saints built up their lead and had control of the game thanks to their perimeter shooting and rebounding. Suzannah Ketchings hit the team&8217;s eighth bucket from behind the arc for the game in the third quarter that put the lead at 40-32.

But the Lady Rebels switched their defense and put more pressure on the perimeter, and they cut the deficit to 45-42 at the end of the third. Swinny had a shot roll in with 29 seconds left as her club finished the quarter on a 10-5 run.

Swinny led AC with 22.

&8220;Our shot selection in the end was not near as good as it was in the beginning,&8221; said Archer, who finished with 23. &8220;We came out with a lot more intensity. We weren&8217;t really worried about playing AC, the big rival. We wanted to go to the state championship game. That was our goal, but we couldn&8217;t reach it. We played an awesome game. I can&8217;t be upset because I know we played hard and played a good game.&8221;

Trinity had its biggest lead in the second quarter when three 3-pointers from Brandy Hall highlighted a 11-0 run for a 27-18 lead.

&8220;We were playing three man-to-man and two floaters,&8221; Gray said of his defense. &8220;They just finally understood it (late). I&8217;m just pleased with all of them.&8221;