South Greene hoped playing Sub-State at home for the first time in a decade would give the Lady Rebels the extra little spark they needed to get back to Murfreesboro.

The Lady Rebs didn't just come out with a spark Saturday night against Austin-East. They came on fire, all but putting the game away by the middle of the second quarter before rolling up a 68-49 victory that earns South Greene its second straight trip to the state tournament.

"We wanted to come out and jump on them early because we knew in the second half they would turn up their game. Any time we have ever seen them, that's the way they've played. We wanted to do what we could early to take the wind out of them," said South Greene coach Derek Dyer.

The tone was set early by senior Brandi Crum. She said it was important for the seniors to win their last game at the Rebel gym.

Crum scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in the first quarter. She went on to lead South Greene with a double-double, scoring a game-high 19 and pulling in game-best 14 rebounds. Crum had six steals.

"I knew I had to play good," Crum said. "I'm smaller than everyone else. They had a big post coming in, and I had to guard their best player. I knew my role."

The game started out slowly in terms of scoring. Both teams used a heavy press to prevent the other from scoring. Ansley Ricker scored the first points of the game for South Greene with a pair of free throws at the 5:27 mark, and the Lady Rebels never trailed.

Crum paced the Lady Rebs to a 16-9 lead by quarter's end. Maelyn Cutshaw had an eight-point second and pushed South Greene's lead to 10. Crum hit a 3-pointer with 4:00 on the clock that energized the crowd and sparked the Lady Rebs on a big run to the horn that saw them take a 41-20 halftime lead.

It wasn't just South Greene's scoring that seized control of the game. The Lady Rebs' defense gave the Lady Roadrunners fits all night.

South Greene forced A-E into nine turnovers in the second quarter alone, and the Lady Rebs finished the game with 20 steals. Rechelle Dye had seven.

"We had to play as a team, and I think we did that tonight," Crum said. "Our defense won the game."

South Greene spread its lead to 54-28 by the end of the third.

Austin-East (18-9) made a push at the start of the fourth, but it was too little, too late. Jalan Harper hit a pair of 3-pointers to ignite a 10-0 run for A-E. Cassaria Denton had an eight-point quarter.

Ricker hit a basket to stop Austin-East's run, and then Cutshaw scored six to really excite the crowd, which cheered as loudly at reports of North Greene's win as it did for the Lady Rebs.

Ricker and Cutshaw each had 16 points for South Greene. Dye had eight. Shelby Hicks had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Mercedes Smith was the only Lady Roadrunner to reach double figures with 10 points.

Dyer said the only downside to the entire night was the stretch at the start of the fourth where the Lady Rebels let A-E score 10 unanswered. It didn't matter Saturday night, but in a close game there can't be any letdowns.

"We need to figure a way to play the whole 32 minutes like it's the first minute of the game," he said.

The win sends the Lady Rebels to Murfreesboro for the second straight year, marking their first back-to-back trips to the state tournament since 2000 and 2001. The Lady Rebels (26-6) play Polk County (28-5) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. (EST).

Dyer believes South Greene has a chance to do well.

"Making it there is one of the hardest things to do," he said. "Once you get there, it's anybody's chance. You have a good run, and you never know what can happen."

For Crum and the Lady Rebels, there is only one goal.

"I think we have a shot to win it," she said.