HANCEVILLE — First, there was the start.

Four minutes into its Class 1A Northwest Regional girls appearance, top-ranked R.A. Hubbard was in a world of hurt, trailing 13-2 to Berry.

Then, there was Emma Herren, the daughter of Berry coach Vic Herren and the team’s best player, whose quick start helped Berry stun the Chiefs with three early 3-pointers.

And then there was halftime, where the Chiefs had a little trouble getting into their locker room as coach Nicholas Vinson tracked down the key.

Other than that, it was business as usual as the Chiefs (24-2) rolled past Berry 73-56 and into Friday’s championship game. Hubbard found scoring with some early outside shooting; Alex Gholston clamped down defensively on Herren; and the Chiefs began to wear down Berry (24-6) on the boards and in transition.

“They have some great shooters and we did a good job pushing the pace in the second and third quarters,” Vinson said after Hubbard outscored the Wildcats 40-26 in the middle two quarters. “I think our depth wore them down a little bit.”

Hubbard also did a good job spreading the scoring wealth as five players scored in double figures. Alexis Acosta led with 15, while Ashlen McCoy and Alex Gholston had 14 each. Oresha Sherrod finished with 12 and Zena Harris scored 11. That easily offset Emma Herren’s game-high 34 points.

Gholston said getting production throughout the lineup helps her game.

“When everybody scores it makes things a lot better,” she said. “It takes the defense off me. When they wouldn’t let me touch the ball, my teammates scored 10 points.”

A couple of unlikely heroes emerged as the Chiefs dug themselves out of the early 11-point hole. McCoy, listed at 4-foot-9 in the program, scored 10 points in the first half and Sherrod scored nine points in the second quarter to spark the Chiefs to a 43-31 halftime lead.

“Sherrod was huge in the second quarter,” Vic Herren said. “It helped them expand the lead out. They got points from some kids who don’t score as much as they did.”

Berry never cut the lead to single digits in the second half.

“We tried to put more pressure on (Herren),” Vinson said. “They were getting too many easy shots.”

Acosta had a team-high 11 rebounds and McCoy had seven steals. Gholston delivered six assists.

Lynn 44, Tharptown 25

Tharptown got its first taste of the Northwest Regional, and the experience didn’t go as planned.

Third-ranked Lynn, making its third consecutive appearance at the regional, took advantage of a poor shooting night to advance to the championship game against Hubbard.

Tharp town (21-11) only made six field goals, including two 3-pointers on the way to a 17 percent night from the field.

“We were a nervous wreck,” coach Chad Green said. “We wanted somebody else to do it.”

Those nerves were evident in the first quarter as Lynn (30-1) jumped out to a 12-2 lead. The Bears built the lead to 24-8 before settling on a 24-14 halftime advantage.

“We’re pretty good in our half court man defense,” Lynn coach Adam Gray said. “That helped us tonight. I was pleased with that.”

Green said Lynn played well on defense, but noted his team has seen good defensive teams this season.

“They do a good job, but no one plays better man defense than Red Bay.”

Kamri Sears, who led the Wildcats with 13 points that included 8 of 10 from the free-throw line, said it wasn’t as much as Lynn’s defense as it was just a poor shooting night. Tharptown was 2 of 12 on 3-pointers.

“We usually are making our 3-pointers but we couldn’t get them to fall,” she said.

Reagan Tittle scored 14 points for Lynn, including a couple of clutch 3-pointers in the second quarter that helped extend the lead. Jackee Dodd added 13 points.

Tuesday’s results

Class 6A

Boys

n Hazel Green 53,

Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 52

n Austin 42, Minor 37

Girls

n Bessemer City 73, Buckhorn 70

n Bob Jones 53, Northridge 44

Class 1A

Boys

n Pickens County 88, Hubbard 46

n Marion County 69, Decatur Heritage 59

Girls

n Hubbard 73, Berry 56

n Lynn 44, Tharptown 25

Today’s schedule

Class 5A

Boys

n Mortimer Jordan

vs. Athens, 10:30 a.m.

n Lee-Huntsville

vs. Cullman, 1:30 p.m.

Girls

n Cullman

vs. Athens, 9 a.m.

n Brewer

vs. Johnson, noon

Class 2A

Boys

n American Christian

vs. Mars Hill, 4:30 p.m.

n Cold Springs

vs. Tanner, 7:30 p.m.

Girls

n Cold Springs

vs. Mars Hill 3 p.m.

n Hatton

vs. Red Bay, 6 p.m.