COURTLAND—Southampton High School’s Ronnie Powell put up 16 fourth-quarter points to give the Lady Indians a 56-50 edge over Bluestone in the opening game of the Region A Tournament Tuesday.

No. 1 ranked Southampton advances to the semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, at home.

No. 8 ranked Bluestone, who gave the Lady Indians quite a battle, is done for the season.

“I’m very pleased with how we played,” said Southampton Coach Aronda Bell, whose Lady Indians are 17-5 overall and 15-3 in the Southside District. “I still think there’s some things we can improve on if we get to the state level.”

Powell finished the game with 26 points, including 10 from the foul line.

Bluestone’s Joceyln Lawrence led with 22 points. Domonique Osborne added 12.

The game was close throughout. The teams were tied 10-10 at the end of the first quarter and 20-20 at the half. Southampton raced to an 8-point lead with 4:27 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer from Sheree Falkins.

The Lady Barons steadily closed to within 3 points by the end of the third quarter after Lawrence rebounded a missed foul shot and made a layup. The score going in the final quarter was 34-31.

With 5:44 left in the game, the Lady Indians and Lady Barons were tied 36-36. Powell scored three times in less than two minutes and followed with two foul shots to make the score 47-37 with 1:51 left in the game.

Bluestone attempted a comeback and, again, came within 3 points of Southampton with 12 seconds left in the game after Lawrence scored a 3-pointer.

With the score 53-50, the Lady Indians assured a win after Powell scored on a foul shot. Senior Regina Artis sealed the win with 2 points at the buzzer.