The Athens Golden Eagles used some clutch free throw shooting in the fourth quarter to pull away from Muscle Shoals and take a 56-46 victory Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Class 6A, Area 16 girls tournament.

Athens had a slim 38-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but held Muscle Shoals to just nine points while converting all 12 of their free throws to pull away for the win that keeps its season going.

McKenzie Crutcher was 6-6 from the free throw line in the final quarter, accounting for six of her 10 points. Alexis Woods scored 21 points to lead the Golden Eagles, with 17 of those coming in the second half, including 11 in the third quarter.

Athens led 15-10 after one quarter and took a 23-18 lead into halftime. Muscle Shoals outscored the Golden Eagles 19-15 in the third quarter to close the lead to one point before Athens was able to close out the victory in the fourth.

Athens (20-9) will play tournament host and top seed Hazel Green (29-2), the No. 1-ranked team in Class 6A, in the tournament finals at 7 p.m. Friday.

Class 2A, Area 16 boys tournament

Tanner 78, Hatton 53

Tanner continued its late-season resurgence with a 25-point victory over Hatton in the tournament semifinals. The Rattlers have now won 10 of their last 12 games, with one of those losses being a two-point loss at Class 6A Athens.

Tanner had balanced scoring in its win over Hatton, with five players scoring in double figures, led by Nathan Montgomery with 16 points.

Jaquan Thompson and Zakobe Shoulders both had 12 points, while J.J. Jones added 11 and Malik Atkins chipped in with 10.

Hatton was led by Ridge Harrison with 16 points and Taft Watson with 15.

Tanner will play tournament host and top seed Mars Hill at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the area final.

Class 5A, Area 16 boys tournament

Lawrence County 56, East Limestone 47

East Limestone’s season ended with a nine-point loss to Lawrence County in the semifinals of the Class 5A, Area 16 tournament.

Keashawn Robinson and Dominik White led the Indians with 13 points each. Lawrence County was led by Marquese Taylor with 11 points and Cameron Carpenter with 10.

In other results, the Lindsay Lane Christian girls basketball team saw its season come to an end with a 40-30 loss to Whitesburg Christian in the semifinals of the Class 1A, Area 15 girls tournament.