PHILADELPHIA — Choctaw Central is heading back to the Big House.

Behind a strong end of the third quarter and fourth quarter, the Lady Warriors got past South Pontotoc 69-48 in the quarterfinal round of the MHSAA Class 4A playoffs Friday night.

Choctaw Central (27-4) will face Newton County in the semifinal round of the Class 4A postseason at the Mississippi Coliseum at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

“We didn’t shoot it too well in the first half, and when the 3s don’t fall, we’re always in trouble, but we got some steals and layups in late in the third quarter, and that changed the momentum of the game,” Choctaw Central coach Bill Smith said. “All the matters now is there’s four teams left, and we’re one of them. Our goal every year is to play in the state championship game, and we’re one win away from that, and the ultimate goal is winning that gold ball next Thursday night.”

The Lady Warriors never trailed the entire game, leading 18-11 at the end of the first quarter and 28-24 at halftime. 

The end of the third quarter was the difference in the game. Midway through the period, South Pontotoc cut the Choctaw Central lead down to one point at 35-34, but the Lady Warriors ended the frame on a 13-0 run to take a 48-34 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.

In the fourth, Choctaw Central went on a 8-2 run to extend its lead to 55-37 and had control of the game until the end.

“We got to depend on our defense and pushing the ball up the floor and making shots. We finally were able to do that,” Smith said. “Once we got a couple of shots to fall, we were able to pick things up and stay ahead.”

Kylie Williamson had a game-high 17 points to lead Choctaw Central. Malaka Morris added 14 points, while Kyla Farmer chipped in 11 points and Kylinn Bell had 10 points.

“I missed a lot of open shots in the first half, but in the second half shots started to fall, and I gained confidence,” Williamson said. “We started communicating on defense and playing as a team, and we were able to pull away at the end. A lot of people didn’t expect us to get back to Coliseum, and feels good, but we have to keep working.”

Rebekah Pilcher had 15 points to lead South Pontotoc, while Anna Sullivan added 14 points for the Lady Cougars (24-8).

“The two things I was worried about was turnovers in the back court and them getting easy baskets and offensive rebounds, and that hurt us in the first half,” South Pontotoc coach Bill Russell said. “They are a really good team and were quicker than us, but I’m proud of the girls for playing hard. Tonight just wasn’t our night.”