BIRMINGHAM — Hillcrest girls basketball topped Pelham 57-42 in the girls Class 6A AHSAA central regional final on Tuesday at Bill Harris Arena, punching its ticket to the Final Four.

The first quarter saw the teams go back-and-forth with the lead, but from the second quarter on, it was all Hillcrest. The Lady Patriots went on to outscore Pelham 19-8 in the second period to take the 36-24 lead into halftime. Hillcrest forced 14 Pelham turnovers in the first half, scoring 20 points off of them.

Coming out of the break, Hillcrest went on a 13-0 run spanning the opening five minutes of the third quarter to build a 49-24 lead. The Lady Patriots defense held the Lady Panthers to 18 second-half points, with four in the third quarter, and held them to shooting 29% (9-of-31) from the field as they cruised to victory.

"I feel like we started slow, but I think a lot of that had to do with Pelham and the way they came out and played," Hillcrest coach Nick Browder said. "... We went in and made some adjustments and kind of challenged our kids at the half and came out of the third quarter and really, I thought that's where the game was put away."

Jareah Branch led the Lady Patriots with 15 points to go with five assists, five steals and four rebounds. Briyana Turner added 10 points with six rebounds.

The win marks Hillcrest's second-straight regional championship and it now advances to its second-straight Final Four, where it will face the winner between Hazel Green and Hartselle at 9 a.m. Feb. 28 at Legacy Arena.

"So, just credit to our team," Browder said. "They worked really hard to get back to this point. To do it two years in a row with this group is really, really special, and I just couldn't be happier for them."

The Lady Patriots forced 14 Pelham turnovers in the first half, scoring 20 points off of them.

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Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama softball and football recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com. Follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @annaesnyder2

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: AHSAA regionals: Hillcrest defense shines as it advances to Final Four