MONTGOMERY — Jacquetta Dailey knocked down seven free throws in the final four minutes as Selma held off Valley for a 49-47 victory Thursday that sends the Lady Saints to the 6A central regional final.

Selma (24-6) led from start to finish and had a nine-point advantage in the first half at Alabama State’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome, but the Rams (15-12) wouldn’t go away. Valley pulled within two in the final minute, only to see a technical foul award the Saints the ball back. Dailey did the rest, coolly draining freebies to put the game out of reach.

“I had confidence that I was going to make the free throws,” Dailey said. “I think I missed one, but we pulled it out at the end.”

For a Selma team that had played back-to-back overtime games against Northridge and Hillcrest, Saints head coach Anthony Harris was glad to avoid an extra session Thursday. Harris said turnovers, missed layups and poor defense allowed the Rams to stay in the game, but in the end he was confident his team would make the plays that mattered.

“I know these kids right here don’t quit and our guard play came around,” Harris said.

Selma started the game with a 7-0 spurt that set the tone for the rest of the first half. Valley cut the Saints’ lead to 14-12 after the first but couldn’t tie the game or take the lead — a recurring theme the rest of the night.

Jayma Smith nailed three first half three-pointers as part of a 14 point night. The final three beat the buzzer at the end of the second quarter to give the Saints a 24-17 halftime lead.

Areyana Williams led the Saints in scoring with 18 points but her rebounding helped Selma stay in the lead during an abysmal six-point third quarter.

“She’s a horse down there, and she gives good effort,” Harris said. “What makes her so good is she can make free throws if she gets fouled.”

The final quarter was mostly about holding on, but the Saints’ most experienced post player, J’Tia White fouled out early in the period. White, a senior, was forced to watch and hope her teammates extended her playing career.

“I may have panicked a little bit when J’Tia fouled out, but my bench came out and did a good job,” Harris said.

White said she never doubted her teammates, especially after the adversity they’ve faced the last week during the playoffs, but when Valley’s Taylor Miller started knocking in shot after shot she probably got a bit nervous.

Miller scored only one point in the first three periods, but erupted for seven in the final minutes to bring Valley within 46-44 with 32.3 seconds left.

Stout defense and Dailey’s free throws helped Selma hang on for the win, pushing the Lady Saints back to a regional final for the first time in 2010. They’ll face Homewood (27-4) Wednesday at 1 p.m.

“We know this it, the championship of the region,” Harris said. “We are going to throw the kitchen sink at them. We aren’t leaving anything in the kitchen.”