CLINTON -- Atkins Coach Wesley Kuhn let out a head-shaking sigh of relief as he exited his team's locker room late Thursday afternoon at Yellowjackets Arena.
"Aww, man," he said after his Lady Red Devils held off West Fork 47-44. "It was an ugly game on our part."
No matter the aesthetics, Atkins (21-10) advances to Saturday's quarterfinal matchup against Centerpoint (22-5).
Kuhn said he believes his team's past tournament experience -- four current Atkins players took part in the team's run to the 2019 championship game -- enabled the Lady Red Devils to persevere despite going 22 of 34 from the free-throw line.
Past tournament experience may have made the difference.
"Basically what we say is survive and advance," Kuhn said. "We've got a little experience, and I think it helped us in a close game like that."
Atkins rode the play of Ashley Dillard and Lindsey Cox in the first two quarters to go into halftime with a 28-18 lead.
Dillard scored all 8 of her points and grabbed 6 of her 8 rebounds in the first half before getting into foul trouble.
Cox scored 10 points, 8 in the first half, and the Lady Devils looked to be on the verge of building a comfortable lead.
It didn't happen.
"It felt like we were well ahead in the game, and it was not the case," Kuhn said. "Not able to develop a rhythm. Neither side able to."
Atkins' lead never got beyond 10, and West Fork (11-10) scrambled to close the gap, with the final play of the third quarter shifting momentum in the Tigers' favor.
Atkins' lead was 35-30 as it worked to take the final shot, but a long rebound landed in the hands of West Fork's Emma Neyman, who hoisted up a shot from midcourt that found its mark to make it a 35-33 game entering the fourth quarter.
Then Neyman, who scored 11 of her team's 13 points in the third quarter, fouled out moments after the fourth quarter began.
"Foul trouble plagued us the entire game," West Fork Coach Rodney Selph said. "We were down 10 at halftime and never flinched. We just came up a little short this time."
Selph said he felt as if the Lady Tigers had the momentum after Neyman's shot, but it didn't last.
"Every time we made a little run, we'd foul," Selph said. "They were calling it tight, but they were calling it tight both ways. We've got to adjust to that."
Lillian Hauser and Collier Neyman scored 10 points each, with Hauser holding her own against Atkins' inside duo of Dillard and Cunningham.
"I'm disappointed we lost, but I'm not disappointed in our effort," Selph said. "Credit our kids on that."
VALLEY SPRINGS 61,
LAMAR 30
Senior guard Whitney Coffelt scored 19 points, and Valley Springs (26-8) built an 18-4 first-quarter lead en route to beating Lamar (19-11).
Valley Springs led 32-17 at halftime and 48-23 after three quarters.
The Lady Tigers opened a 53-23 lead in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.
Valley Springs advances to Saturday's 10 a.m. quarterfinal against Mountain View (21-3).
Lamar's Shaelyn Taylor provided a highlight for the Lady Warriors, hitting a 55-foot shot as time expired in the first half.
Taylor was Lamar's leading scorer with seven. Loren Lax and Karley Williams scored five each.