WOODSTOCK - McEachern's Dominique Wilson scored a go-ahead basket with 19 seconds remaining in regulation and sealed the game with a pair of free throws with 5 seconds left as the third seeded Lady Indians defeated No. 2 seed Etowah,44-40, Monday night in the Region 5AAAAA semifinals.

The victory moves McEachern into today's region final against North Cobb while Marietta will face the Lady Eagles in the consolation game.

"It felt great to make those shots in the last minute" said Wilson, who finished with 13 points. "We've come too far now to lose. I just had to take care of business for my team."

McEachern held a commanding lead for the majority of the contest until Etowah rallied in the second half.

The Lady Eagles took their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter when Kaycee Cash connected on two free throws to give Etowah a 32-31 advantage. Cash finished the night with a team-high nine points.

Then, trailing 38-35 later in the quarter, Etowah guard McKenzie Irvin made the game's only 3 point shot to tie the score. It was enough to get the Lady Indians attention.

"There was a little bit of panic on our side when they came back" added Wilson. "But we just had to keep our composure. We knew they were going to keep fouling, we had to earn this win."

McEachern led by as much as 10 in both the second and third quarters, and at times looked to be running away with the victory. The Lady Eagles were held to a total nine points in the first half, largely because of a 3-for-21 performance shooting from the field.

"I'm proud of the way they dug deep and fought back" said Etowah head coach Bob Westbrook. "We really didn't do anything well in the first half, but they wouldn't stop playing when things got bad."

When asked if this tournament can still be considered a success for his squad, Westbrook said "Absolutely. We're in the state tournament, and that's what matters. We've got to turn around and focus on the third place game tomorrow."

McEachern was drawing its inspiration from a very different source.

"It's been a very emotional week" said McEachern head coach Phyllis Arthur, referring to the highly publicized death of McEachern student athlete Rajaan Bennett. "The girls kept saying to each other in the locker room, 'What would Rajaan do in these situations? He would play hard.'"

Regarding the significance of a potential region tournament title for McEachern high school, Arthur added "It would mean so much. This will be the third straight year we've been in the championship game, and we've got to take care of this. It would mean so much for the school and for the community."