After locking up a spot in the final eight teams, the Fort Dale girls made a statement with a win over Pike and a close loss to Lee-Scott at Huntingdon over the weekend.

In their two regular-season meeting, the Eagles and the Patriots played a combined six overtimes, and the postseason game nearly added one more.

Fort Dale led 39-37 as the game wound down, but Pike missed three shots in the last 10 seconds that would have tied it.

The Eagles hit a free throw to make the final margin 40-37 after starting the game down 15-1.

“They hit some shots early and jumped on us,” said head coach William Johnson. “Then we went into a zone and they only scored six points in the second and third quarters.”

Murphy Middleton led the Eagles with 14 points and 14 rebounds while Abbey Martin also added 14 points.

That win set up another showdown with Lee-Scott, the top team in AAA.

The Eagles played tough, but the Warriors pulled out a 60-49 win in a game that was close until the end.

“It was a closer game than the score says,” Johnson said. “We did a good job of giving them very few easy shots.”

Jessie Langford scored 15 against LSA.

Lori Fail and Middleton were named to the all-tournament team.

Now the Eagles will face off against Kingwood in the next round of the playoffs.

“Kingwood has about the same record as us,” Johnson said. “We’ve played very few teams in common.”

Johnson said Eagle fans are encouraged to wear white to the game against Kingwood to show their support.

That game is set for 6 p.m. Friday at Huntingdon College in Montgomery.