BIRMINGHAM – No. 3 Faith Academy turned up the pressure in the second half, but No. 1 Brewer couldn’t respond.

The Lady Rams (29-4) went on a 24-6 run spanning the second and third quarters to defeat the Lady Patriots (32-2) 59-43 Wednesday morning in the Class 5A semifinals at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena.

Brewer and Faith Academy started the game trading punches right out of the gate. Savana Flack hit a 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter to give the Lady Patriots a 17-15 lead.

After the teams tied for their eighth time, Flack hit another 3-pointer to to give Brewer a 26-23 advantage.

However, that would be the last time the Lady Patriots would lead the game.

Sydney Westry of the Lady Rams hit a 3-pointer to tie the game once again. Malerie Drinkard of Brewer tied the game for the 10th time with a jumper in the paint, making the score 28-28 with 2:16 left in the second quarter.

Faith Academy scored the last four points of the half to make the score 32-28 at the half.

That run extended to 9-0 after Faith Academy hit a 3-pointer and a lay-up in the first 1:03 of the third quarter, forcing Brewer coach Ricky Allen to call timeout.

That strategy for the moment appeared to work for the moment, as Riley Northway hit a shot out of the timeout to cut the lead to 37-30.

Instead, that jumper marked the beginning of a five-minute drought for the Lady Patriots, during which the Lady Rams extended the lead to 47-32 by the end of the third quarter.

Brewer shot just 21 percent in the second half, including 1-for-10 from the 3-point line. For the game, Brewer shot 30 percent from the field and 3-for-19 from the 3-point line.

Faith Academy caught fire in the second half, shooting 67 percent from the field.

Riley Northway finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the final game of her junior campaign. Savana Flack finished with nine points.

Senior Rheagan Harvel and Drinkard had six points apiece followed by Brook Childers with two. Drinkard also collected six rebounds.

Faith Academy had four players in double figures. Rhodes led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds. Westry and Angel Carthen had 12 points apiece followed by Lakhilian Rankins with 11 points.

Brewer vs Faith Academy
2/27/13 9 a.m. at BJCC
At BJCC
FAITH ACADEMY 59, BREWER 43

BREWER (32-2)
NORTHWAY,Riley 8-26 4-4 20; FLACK,Savana 3-6 1-1 9;
HARVEL,Rheagan 3-7 0-0 6; DRINKARD,Malerie 2-5 1-3 6;
CHILDERS,Brook 1-1 0-0 2; KINSER,Sierra 0-3 0-0 0;
LAVENDER,Caitlin 0-0 0-0 0; MCLEMORE,Cheyenne 0-5 0-0 0;
BOWEN,Shelbi 0-0 0-0 0; GEORGE,Skylar 0-0 0-0 0;
ODEN,Emily 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 17-57 6-8 43.

FAITH ACADEMY (29-4)
RHODES, Jasmine 9-19 2-2 21; CARTHEN, Angel 5-8 2-2 12;
WESTRY, Sydney 3-3 4-7 12; RANKINS, Lakhlian 4-6 2-2 11;
PITTMAN, Sierra 1-4 1-4 3; WOLFE, Hannah 0-0 0-0 0;
HOOPER, Jenny 0-0 0-0 0; YOUNG, Juanisha 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 22-41 11-17 59.

Brewer.......... 17   11    4   11  -   43
Faith Academy... 15   17   15   12  -   59

3-point goals--Brewer 3-19 (FLACK,Savana 2-5;
DRINKARD,Malerie 1-1; KINSER,Sierra 0-1;
MCLEMORE,Cheyenne 0-4; ODEN,Emily 0-2; HARVEL,Rheagan 0-2;
NORTHWAY,Riley 0-4),
Faith Academy 4-6 (WESTRY, Sydney 2-2;
RANKINS, Lakhlian 1-1; RHODES, Jasmine 1-3).
Fouled out--Brewer-None, Faith Academy-None.
Rebounds--Brewer 32 (NORTHWAY,Riley 14), Faith Academy 33
(RHODES, Jasmine 9).
Assists--Brewer 6 (HARVEL,Rheagan 2),
Faith Academy 13 (PITTMAN, Sierra 5).
Total fouls--Brewer 16, Faith Academy 11.
Technical fouls--Brewer-None, Faith Academy-None.
2013 AHSAA Class 5A Girls Semi-Final