South Greene is headed back to the Ladies’ Classic title game for the first time in well over a decade, with the young Lady Rebels making veteran plays with the weight of the world on their shoulders to knock off previously unbeaten Morristown West 50-49 in Tuesday night’s first semifinal.

Sophomore Ansley Ricker sealed the win at the foul line with 1.6remaining, breaking a deadlock and giving the Lady Rebels their firsttrip to the championship game for the first time since they won theirfourth straight title in 1992.

“That was a lot of pressure on her, but she is one of the best shooters I have on the team,” said Lady Reb coach Derek Dyer. “I feel comfortable with her shooting. Even though she is a sophomore, she doesn’t act like it. If I had to pick somebody, she’d be one of the ones I would have picked to take those shots.”

South Greene, whose only loss came earlier in the year to the very same Lady Trojans, didn’t exactly have control of the game the whole way,but the Lady Rebs (12-1) did have a grip on it despite some difficult circumstances.

Morristown West (11-1) used a heavy press to give the Lady Rebels problems in the opening quarter and held a 14-11 lead at the end of one.

Brandi Crum tied it for South Greene with a 3-pointer at the start ofthe second, and from then on West was forced to play to the Lady Rebs’ flow of the game. With team leader Taylor Hall on the bench with three fouls, West fell behind South Greene until Allison Jones hit a layup at the buzzer to give the Lady Trojans the lead again 24-23 at halftime.

Rechelle Dye with eight and Ricker with five in the third helped move the Lady Rebels ahead 40-33 heading into the fourth quarter, but it was never going to be as easy as running out the clock.

South Greene had to survive the final eight minutes.

The Lady Rebels never had a chance to really enjoy a lead and take advantage of Taylor having foul troubles, picking up her fifth with5:13 to play. South Greene was whistled for 19 turnovers, allowing West to score 26 points. Only three of the turnovers were because of Lady Trojan steals.

Still, the Lady Rebs battled. Dye scored 18 to lead South Greene, adding five rebounds and five assists.

Ricker scored 13 including three 3-pointers, but none were more important than her 2-for-4 effort at the free throw line down the stretch when West was given opportunity after opportunity to steal the win.

Dyer said he was proud of the way the team handled adversity. They played like a team capable of winning the Ladies’ Classic.

“This get us back to a point where we haven’t been in a really longtime,” said Lady Reb head coach Derek Dyer. “The girls really played hard tonight. They played their hearts out.”

Sidney Goins led Morristown West with 17 points.

Morristown West (49): Fanney 3-9 1-4 9, Hall 3-8 2-4 8, Watson 2-9 0-06, Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Sidney Goins 6-13 4-6 17, Jones 3-4 0-2 6, May 0-33-4 3, Totals 17-50 10-20 49.

South Greene (50): Rechelle Dye 2-5 14-16 18, Ansley Ricker 4-8 2-4 13,Kinser 1-1 0-1 2, Casteel 0-4 0-0 0, Hicks 3-7 0-0 6, Baxley 0-0 0-0 0,Crum 4-5 0-0 9, Tweed 0-0 2-2 2, Sizemore 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 14-30 18-2350.

3-point goals: MW - 5 (Fanney 2, Watson 2, Goins). SG - 4 (Ricker 3, Crum).

Score by quarters:

Morristown West    14  10  9  16 -- 49

South Greene    11  12  17  10 -- 50