With one minute left in Friday’s game, Selma’s Jacquetta Dailey made a move to get to the basket and laid the ball up on the backboard. She looked back over her shoulder and got frustrated as she watched the ball roll around the rim and then fall out.

She clapped her hands in frustration, but quickly ran down the court to play defense.

“I usually normally make my layups,” Dailey said. “I thought it was going to go in but when it came back out, I kind of got a little frustrated but I got back on defense to get a stop.”

Based on the reaction, you would’ve thought Selma needed that shot to go in, but the Saints had been in cruise control for a while. The Saints had led by 30 at halftime and knocked off Stanhope Elmore 59-32 in a game that was never in doubt.

That competitiveness is a big part of the reason the Saints are 17-1 this year and have nearly wrapped up another regular season area title.

“This group here is special and I tell them that every day,” said Selma coach Anthony Harris.

Harris has coached two teams that played in Birmingham for the state’s basketball semifinals and finals. His 2008 team was undefeated, but lost once it got to Birmingham.

He said the current Selma team has several similarities to those teams. The Saints have three experienced seniors in Dailey, Areyana Williams and Jamya Smith and also several juniors that have played big roles. Experience won’t be an issue if this team plays in Montgomery or Birmingham in February.

This year’s Saints’ team has continued the program’s run of success.

Selma is only three wins away from the team’s 14th consecutive 20-win season, although it’s clear the team has much bigger goals.

Three weeks ago, Harris sat down the entire team and asked what they’d like to accomplish this year. Usually, he keeps the focus on one goal at a time, but with a veteran group he decided to talk bigger picture.

“Last year all we talked about was to win the area and we’ve done that so much,” Harris said. “We win the area, win the area tournament and we go to the region and we’re back at the house. I did something different. About three weeks ago, we were sitting and I asked everybody in there what goal do you want to achieve now? I said do you want to go to Birmingham? Every last one of them said yes.”

Harris reminded the team about all the hard work it’s going to take to get there.

“We want the experience of having a championship. Coach deserves it,” said junior Kynadra Lewis. “Everything we all have been through, we’ve come up short. I think that motivates us to go out and get it this year..”

Any time the team wants to start dreaming big, they can think back to their one loss this season against Robert E. Lee. Dailey said the Saints didn’t play well that night and wasn’t focused.

“That one loss, we kind of came back together after that,” Dailey said. “That one loss woke us up a little bit, knowing we could be beat. We slacked off a little bit that game but after that we came back on strong and played together a team.”

So, what makes this team different? Williams said the closeness of this group gives it a chance to be great.

“We work very hard at practice,” Williams said. “We have that connection with each other on the court and off the court. When we see a team player down, we help get them back in there.”

If Selma wins its last area game it will clinch class 6A, area 5 and will host the area tournament. Since area 5 only has three teams, the winner of the area would receive a bye in the first round of the tournament and be locked into the sub-regional round of the playoffs.

The Saints hope to be playing well past that point.

“It’s going to take some hard work, determination, being dedicated, loyal to the program and each other,” Harris said.