Nikia Powell’s 33 points lead the Greenville High School Lady Tigers to victory over Wilcox Central, 55-49, in the Class 5A, Area 4 girls title game on Saturday.

“The girls did three things really well: they had good shot selection, they took care of the ball in the transition and they had good defensive positioning the whole game,” said Coach Jody Barr. “Those were the three things we asked of them, and I believe its what helped them win the ballgame.”

Barr said the game was back and fourth the entire game, with no team leading more than a couple of points. Late in the game, Barr said they managed to break the will of the Wilcox Jaguars.

“We held the score close, and midway through the fourth quarter we started pounding the ball inside to our power forward Nikia Powell,” said Barr. “She just kept putting shot in and ultimately this is what made the difference.”

Powell said keeping her cool throughout the game was clutch.

“It was tough at first, playing such a good team,” Powell said. “We just hustled and stayed focused the entire game.”

The Tigers will play in the sub-regional game against Caroll-Ozark on Thursday at 7 p.m.