Coach Robert Wills' Tigers led 23-16 at halftime but managed just two points in the final two quarters while Coach Paul Marsh's Bears could only net five points.

Robertsdale decided to hold the ball in the third period and force BCHS out of their zone defense. But Wills elected to let his team watch as the third quarter was scoreless. BCHS then got the ball to start the fourth period and held it themselves until the Lady Bears finally came out and went man to man with about four minutes left in the game.

 "It was our game plan and we executed it about as well as we could," Marsh said after the unique contest.

 "We just couldn't hit any shots down the stretch. BCHS has a great team and we just wanted to have a chance at the end. They will be hard to beat in the next rounds," Marsh added.

Wills commended his coaching rival on his strategy.

 "It was a smart move and it worked. It got us out of our regular game. We probably didn't play our best game of the year but the girls did what they had to and I am happy to be moving on and hosting the next round on Thursday," Wills added.

BCHS, now 20-4 on the year and winners of nine straight games, will entertain Dothan (22-4) on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Bay Minette.

Robertsdale fell to 14-12 with the loss and will travel to

Enterprise (22-11) on Thursday. Enterprise upset Dothan 69-53 in the Area 4 title game Saturday.

CoCo Knight's eight points led BCHS with Latia Pullum adding five.

Darnisha Maye and Denosha Maye each scored four for BCHS while Delcia Adams and Jennifer Modispacher had two apiece for Bay Minette.

Austin Richardson had a game high 14 to lead RHS, scoring 11 in the second quarter. Maddie Petite added four while Jakayla Johnson had two and Becca Baker had one.

BCHS started strong outscoring the visitors 9-0 in the first four minutes and leading 11-1 after one quarter.

Richardson then got hot for the Bears as they cut the lead to 23-16 at intermission.

No one scored in the third as both teams only had one shot. The scoreboard finally changed with 4:19 left in the game when Richardson hit a long three to make it a four-point game.

Both teams then committed two turnovers each and BCHS missed four free throws and two uncontested layups. Adams then hit a basket for the home team with 1:23 remaining to up the lead to six but Petite answered inside with 1:09 left.

Another BCHS turnover gave the ball back to the Lady Bears but a Richardson three-point miss led to a Knight rebound and seconds later Darnesha Maye was fouled. She missed both free throws but Rosie Blount's jumper from the baseline was off and BCHS got the victory.