East Limestone's Reagan Embry holds the ball behind her head to prevent a Brooks defender from getting it. The Indians defeated the Lions 63-40 in the semifinals of the area tournament.

The East Limestone girls basketball team has relied on its defense all season, and that theme continued Monday night in the semifinals of the Class 5A, Area 16 tournament, as the Indians pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Brooks 63-40 and advance to the tournament finals Thursday.

The Indians led 44-33 after three quarters but opened the fourth quarter on a 15-0 run and at one point scored 10 points in 40 seconds after forcing four straight Brooks turnovers.

“We turned up the pressure in the fourth quarter, and once we got that momentum, we just kept going,” East Limestone coach Josh Davis said. “That was the plan from the start, but I don’t know whether we just turned it up or Brooks got tired. Either way, it was a good quarter for our defense.”

East Limestone (22-6) had two comfortable victories over Brooks (3-23) in the regular season and was expected to have another easy time of it, but the Lions made it difficult for the Indians for three quarters. That made things a little stressful for East Limestone fans and coaches, as a loss Monday would have ended the Indians’ season.

“The first game of the area tournament is always a pressure game,” Davis said. “It was a big relief once we got a big lead. It was a stressful game for three quarters.”

Jirah Rogers had a huge night for East Limestone, scoring 28 points and grabbing 17 rebounds, despite being constantly double-teamed by Brooks defenders.

Rogers had 13 of her 28 points in the fourth quarter, as the Indians found ways to get the ball inside to her despite the double-teams.

“We adjusted a little bit, and set screens for her on the inside,” Davis said. “She also just went a little harder and found that open spot.”

Hailie Smith scored 12 points for the Indians, while Savannah Tyler added eight. Brooks was led by Sophie Patterson with 12 points and Grace West with 11.

East Limestone guaranteed itself a spot in the subregional round with the victory. The Indians will face Lawrence County, which won its semifinal game against Russellville 54-26, in the tournament championship game at 7 p.m. Thursday. The winner will host the subregional round, while the loser will play on the road.

Davis said it is important for the Indians to win Thursday to avoid playing on the road in the subregional round, where they would most likely face Wenonah High School from Birmingham.

“We don’t want to travel down there if we can help it,” Davis said. “That’s a pretty long trip for us, and Wenonah is a very good team.”