By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Sherwin-Williams may ask South Point to do an endorsement commercial after all the time the Lady Pointers spent in the paint Thursday.

South Point’s ability to score in the paint helped the Lady Pointers beat the Boyd County Lady Lions 69-51 in the semifinals of the Gold Bracket of the St. Joe Invitational at Veterans Memorial Field House.

South Point scored 44 of its points in the paint while holding the Lady Lions to only six points inside the lane.

“That was the difference in the game,” said South Point coach Dave Adams. “Their ability to score inside was a big concern for us. Allison Mitchell and Kimmie Bennett did a nice job defensively inside.”

Jalynn Bradburn became a big concern offensively for Boyd County as she led South Point with 27 points. Kayla Fletcher had a strong all-around game with 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and six steals.

“Jalynn had a real good game for us and Kayla played a complete game. They did a good job of pushing the ball up the floor,” said Adams.

Boyd County (12-6) was led by Courtney Moore with 19 points. The Lady Lions were 10 of 25 from the 3-point line.

“They shot 60 percent in the first half from the 3-point line but just 26 percent in the second half,” said Adams. “Defensively we played pretty well. They caught us on a couple of screens in the second half and they shot 3s in transition in the first half.”

South Point led 21-6 to start the game and led 21-11 at the end of the first quarter.

The Lady Pointers were up 33-24 at the half and saw the lead shrink to eight, but they outscored the Lady Lions 18-12 in the third quarter to open up a 51-36 lead and finished strong in the fourth quarter.

South Point (11-2) will play Wayne at 9 p.m. Saturday in the title game. Boyd County meets Buffalo-Putnam in the consolation game at 7 p.m.

Boyd County 11 13 12 15 = 51

South Point 21 12 18 18 = 69

BOYD COUNTY (12-6): Emily Stewart 0 0 0-0 0, Kelcie Chaney 0 2 0-1 6, Taylor Wheeler 1 0 4-4 6, Logan Fraley 0 2 3-4 8, Kaitlin Brown 0 0 0-0 0, Courtney Moore 2 5 0-0 19, Brittany Luttrell 2 1 0-0 7, Kelsey Plybon 1 0 2-2 4. Totals: 16-45 9-11 51. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 10-25. Rebounds: 7 offense, 21 defense = 28 (Plybon 7, Chaney 5). Assists: 9 (Fraley 3). Steals: 4 (Plybon 2). Turnovers: 17.

SOUTH POINT (11-2): Aundrea Bradburn 1 0 0-0 2, Allison Mitchell 6 0 2-6 14, Angelica Stewart 2 0 0-2 4, Kayla Fletcher 7 1 3-3 20, Kimmie Bennett 0 0 2-2 2, Jalynn Bradburn 8 2 5-5 27. Totals: 27-50 12-18 69. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 3-12. Rebounds: 5 offense, 24 defense = 29 (Fletcher 9, Mitchell 6, Bennett 6). Assists: 7 (Fletcher 5). Steals: 12 (Fletcher 6, J. Bradburn 3). Turnovers: 10.