PELAHATCHIE &8212; Free throws didn&8217;t fall late for Trinity Episcopal in this building a day earlier, but it wasn&8217;t cause for much alarm.

You can practice and practice those things until the sun goes down and comes back up again. It&8217;s more to it than that, and a day later the Lady Saints showed down the stretch it&8217;s more mental than anything when it comes to hitting free throws down the stretch in a crucial game.

It had to be. After playing so hard the day before against Adams Christian, the Lady Saints weren&8217;t as sharp but found a way to down Columbia 41-39 in the consolation contest of the Class AA state tournament.

&8220;They did a lot better job at the free-throw line,&8221; Trinity head coach Melanie Hall said. &8220;In big games at this time, it&8217;s going to come down to free throws. We did better at the line than we did yesterday. We shoot free throws a lot. Basketball is mental &8212; you have to go up, stay focused and nail it.&8221;

The Lady Saints nailed 10 of 14 shots from the line in the fourth quarter, and it was a good thing they did &8212; all their points in that quarter came from the line. Mallory Archer hit one of two with 10 seconds left for the two-point lead, but Columbia turned it over on their end of the floor as time expired and couldn&8217;t get a shot off.

The Lady Cougars, too, may have been a little flat from their loss to Leake Academy Friday. They trailed the entire contest.

&8220;They made their free throws down the stretch, and that was important for them,&8221; Columbia head coach Reid Mclumbia head coach Reid McCay said. &8220;It was hard to play a semifinal game on Friday and a consolation game 24 hours later. It was hard to get up for it. We came out really flat. I really don&8217;t know if we played that flat except when we played (at Trinity).&8221;

The Lady Saints had at least a three-point lead for most of the third quarter with both teams scoring on each end until Columbia post player Sarah Slater canned a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 16 seconds left.

The big girl had an open look at the basket because quite possibly no one in the building thought she would nail it. She did, but the Lady Saints were able to get Archer back on the line.

&8220;(Free throws) were a little bit better,&8221; Trinity senior Suzannah Ketchings said. &8220;Better than yesterday, and we really showed it today, too. (But) they&8217;ve got some good shooters. (Lindsey Beard) and (Megan Simmons) can shoot. They&8217;re a good team.&8221;

Archer sparked the Lady Saints&8217; offense in the third quarter as they six at one point, while she and Brandy Hall did the job on defense up against Columbia standout Taryn Magee.

Archer picked off a pass on the other end and hit Molly Butts on a layup on a fast break for a 27-21 lead with 4:32 left. Magee got to the line three times in that quarter despite picking up her fourth foul early and finishing with 16 points.

&8220;We were a little flat after yesterday,&8221; Melanie Hall said. &8220;That was a big physical and mental game. But we dug down deep and found that little something extra. I thought Brandy did a beautiful job on the Magee girl. We didn&8217;t block her out on defense, but as far as initial defense and not giving her good looks, I thought Brandy did a great job on No. 15.&8221;

Magee picked up her third foul in the second quarter and sat a good portion until halftime. Slater had just seven points until her 3-pointer at the end, and the Lady Saints&8217; defense kept them in the game.

Archer got a steal in the press early in the third quarter and hit Butts on the other end for a 21-16 lead.

Columbia trailed 19-11 before getting two buckets in the final minute of the half to trail 19-15 at the break.

&8220;Trinity played well, and Archer played well,&8221; McCay said. &8220;The Hall girl did a really good job defending on (Magee).&8221;