ORRVILLE — The No. 8 Keith Lady Bears dominated early and controlled the tempo in Friday’s 62-32 win over the Billingsley Lady Bears, as they advance to the Class 1A Area 5 championship game.

Cecil Williams, head girls basketball coach of Keith (26-3, ranked No. 8 in Class 1A), said Friday’s game was all about continuing the success they’ve had all season, as well as getting better.

“It was real important for us to come out and stay on point with what we’ve been doing the whole year,” Williams said. “We just continued to reinforce the defense we’ve been working on, and just trying to improve all around.”

Keith jumped out to a 25-8 lead in a first quarter that included six points each by Zykia Pettway and Lyteisha Phillips, as well as seven points by Harriet Winchester.

Keith carried over its momentum into the second, as Winchester scored five points in the quarter to help them take a 35-9 lead into the half.

Billingsley’s Payton Wallace scored seven points in the third, but Keith continued to dominate, and took a 50-18 lead into the final quarter.

Winchester led Keith with 19 points, while Phillips had 14 points, and Pettway added 13 points on the night.

Keith will look to repeat as area champions when they face the Autaugaville Lady Eagles on Monday in Orrville starting at 5 p.m.