DECATUR — Free throws are sometimes the difference in a game, and that was the case Monday night.

Sumrall went go 21-of-29 from the charity stripe and held on to defeat Newton County 59-50 in the first round of the MHSAA Class 4A girls basketball playoffs.

The Lady Bobcats (17-9) advance to face Moss Point on Friday night in the second round of the 4A playoffs.

“The girls wanted it, and they played hard even after we struggled to start. Once we started scoring, they saw where it was possible to win the game,” Sumrall coach Portland Brown said. “I’ve always told the girls free throws will win a game, and fortunately for us, it did tonight.”

Newton County came out firing to start the game, jumping out to a 14-4 lead, and the Lady Cougars led 20-13 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter saw Sumrall open on a 10-0 run to take a 23-22 lead, but Newton County ended the quarter on a 7-1 run to go up 29-24 at the break.

Each team traded leads in the third period, but the Lady Cougars held onto a 39-38 advantage going into the final eight minutes. However, Sumrall held Newton County to just one field goal in the fourth quarter and opened the frame with a 7-1 run highlighted by a 3-point play by Kristen Johnson to take a 45-40 lead. Sumrall never trailed from that point.

Tarianna Greenwood had a game-high 23 points to lead Sumrall, while Lilli Robertson added 17 points for the Lady Bobcats.

“Tarianna is a junior, and she’s finally getting into herself and finding out she can make a difference in a game, and she did tonight,” Brown said. “It’s been about six years since Sumrall has been past the first round, so it’s big for our program, and we will go back and get ready for Friday.”

Nahriah Brown and Jayden Mack each had 10 points to lead Newton County (20-10).  The Lady Cougars went 15-of-30 from the free throw line.

“We came in with a pretty decent game plan, and they shot the ball a little bit better than we anticipated,” Newton County coach Cory Cleveland said. “We didn’t shoot it well from the free-throw line, and when you have things like that at this point in the season, things have to be lined up just right, and they weren’t quite lined up for us tonight.”