HANCEVILLE — Slow and steady helped West Limestone’s girls get to Wallace State, but fast and furious is allowing them to stick around the rest of the week. 

Rainey Tyler led the Wildcats from deep and Destiny Clemmons paced a fine performance from the free throw line Monday at Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum, lifting West Limestone to a 64-57 win in the Northwest Regional Tournament. 

The Class 4A semifinal saw seven lead changes before Jordan Paul’s squad took control for good with a 12-4 run to close the second quarter. 

The Hawks cut the gap to five points in the third and just three in the fourth but were ultimately denied the comeback. 

“First of all, I’m super proud of our girls,” Paul said. “We knew coming in that they shoot the ball extremely well. They live and die by that 3. We felt like it was two contrasting styles. We tend to slow the game down. We’re patient on offense. They want to speed it up. They press you, try to make you uncomfortable. We knew whoever won that battle would end up on top. 

“There were a few times we lost our minds, but overall I was real pleased with how they stepped up and grew today.” 

Tyler sank four 3’s and finished with a game-high 20 points for a team that went 5 of 8 from behind the arc in the first half. Clemmons tossed in 16 points, including 12 on 14 attempts at the charity stripe.

The Wildcats ended up 29 of 38 from the gimme distance after going 15 of 16 through three quarters. 

“Every time they go to the line, I’m telling them, ‘What if it does come down to you making a shot from the free throw line?” Paul said. “It’s like anything. You have to step to the line with confidence knowing you’ve done it before.”

Reilly Hooie and Hope Dildine each scored nine points for West Limestone, which Paul said nearly doubled its average point total. The Wildcats have had plenty of shuffling to do trying to replace the 60-65 percent of scoring the coach estimated they lost when All-State duo Kayla Carter and Shelby Clay graduated last spring. 

Suffice to say by this season’s accomplishments — matching trips to the county and regional finals — West Limestone’s new-look lineup has slowly but surely figured out how to make up the difference. 

“I’ve been real proud how we’ve kind of got this new identity where everybody’s getting involved and we’re scoring by committee,” Paul said. “It’s a good and a bad thing as a coach. It’s good because it’s hard to scout. It’s bad because, as a coach, you don’t know who’s going to be the one. You just hope somebody steps up — and they have.” 

Jolee Cole had Danville’s high with 16 points. Tara Tuck, Gracie George, Tabetha Hutto and Sheila Cordova all had nine. 

Hutto added 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who finished 18-12. 

“Finishing second in the ballgame stinks, but I want to congratulate West Limestone,” Danville coach Paul Wilson said. “They shot the ball from behind the 3-point line better than we would’ve anticipated. When you come down here, it’s about players making plays —  and they made the plays.”

West Limestone will take on top-ranked Deshler for its first regional title Wednesday at 4 p.m. The Wildcats were eliminated by Deshler with a 63-32 loss in the 2015 semis. 

“I’m glad we get another chance at ‘em,” Clemmons said.