Cold Springs is marching on to the Elite Eight.

The Class 2A No. 1 Lady Eagles beat Tuscaloosa Academy 50-42 at Bill Harris Arena on Friday, securing a spot in the championship game of the Central Regional Tournament.

Cold Springs (29-2) will play No. 9 Francis Marion on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Coach Tammy West’s squad got off to a fast start, building a 15-4 lead after the first quarter.

The Lady Knights, though, didn’t fold, instead pulling to within three (22-19) at halftime.

But the Blue and Gold put a little more distance between themselves and Tuscaloosa Academy in the third period, outpacing their opponent by five points in the frame to craft a 36-28 advantage with just eight minutes left.

From there, Cold Springs was able to keep the Lady Knights at bay.

The Lady Eagles did so by overcoming a 5-of-24 effort from 3-point range and relying on their tenacious defense — they forced 17 turnovers and allowed Tuscaloosa Academy to shoot just 33 percent from the field — and rebounding — they pulled down 36 to the losing team’s 28.

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Top Scorers

Cold Springs: Maci Brown (14), Malaya Taylor (13), Ella Dickerson (12), Ciara Calvert (8)

*Taylor added 16 rebounds for a double-double

Tuscaloosa Academy: Alex Brownlee (25), Millie Mullin (7), Margaret Sadler (6)

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Coach Speak

“To look at this group and know where we are versus where we were is exciting, and I’m proud of them for what they’ve done. We’re still young, and I was trying to get them to rise to the occasion, even though they have never been here. We jumped on them early but started playing tight after missing some shots. I told them you might not be making shots but find another way to win — defense, rebounding, forcing a turnover. That’s what we did, and we were able to make enough free throws down the stretch.” — Tammy West

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Player Speak

“As a team, we had a goal this year. And part of that goal was to play at regionals. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we also knew we were capable of achieving it. We don’t want to stop with a Sweet 16 win. The coaches have prepared us for these moments throughout the offseason and during the season. We have our minds set on something way bigger. This game was a big win, but we aren’t stopping here. We want to punch our ticket to the state tournament and, hopefully, win it all. We are capable of it. We just have to grind and play good team ball — and we all know we can do it.” — Maci Brown