Box Score HOMEWOOD, Ala. – The University of Alabama in Huntsville women's basketball team extended its season by another game on Saturday, defeating top-seed Delta State 68-57 in the semifinals of the 2013 Raymond James Women's Basketball Championships. The Lady Chargers advance to the championship game for a second straight year and will face the winner of North Alabama and West Alabama at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
 
UAH (14-16) was led by Jordan Smith's 23 points while Bailee Robinson added 11, and the team forced Delta State (19-9) to commit 10 second-half turnovers en route to outscoring the Lady Statesmen 36-24 in the frame.
 
The contest was a back-and-forth affair that featured four ties and 10 lead changes – the first of which occurred after the Lady Chargers opened up a 5-0 lead in the game's first two minutes.
 
Delta State outscored the tournament's fifth-seed 9-2 over the next three minutes to grab a 9-7 lead at the 14:48 mark – the first time in Homewood that the Lady Chargers trailed.
 
One of Robinson's two triples on the day would give the advantage back to UAH for a brief moment with just under five minutes left to go in the period, but DSU's Rhandi Ball answered with a jumper on the next possession to put the Lady Statesmen back in front.
 
Ball finished the day with a game-high 25 points and recorded a double-double as she collected 12 rebounds.
 
The teams traded baskets – and the lead – in the final 11 seconds of the half to make it a 33-32 game tilted in Delta State's favor at halftime, and DSU scored five straight to start the second half and establish its largest lead of the night at 38-32 just over a minute into the period.
 
Continuing to lead, the Lady Statesmen were up 48-43 at the 10:49 mark but Shannon Steinert buried a 3-pointer to spark a quick 7-1 run that was capped off by a Morgan Duncan layup as UAH went back ahead 50-49 with 9:23 remaining.
 
The Lady Chargers then dominated the next almost four minutes of the contest, outscoring Delta State by a 9-2 margin to establish an eight-point lead with just 5:33 remaining in the game, and though the Lady Statesmen would close the gap to four, they were unable to pull any closer as UAH punched its championship-game ticket.
 
Smith was particularly strong in the final minutes, scoring seven of the team's final nine points.
 
UAH finished the game shooting 42.6 percent while limiting the Lady Statesmen to a field goal percentage of 33.3 percent, and the Lady Charger defensive effort resulted in a 1-for-12 day from beyond the arc for DSU.
 
The Lady Statesmen did hold the advantage on the glass by a 45-37 margin – including collecting 25 offensive boards. However, the second chance points did not hurt the Lady Chargers terribly as DSU scored 24 second chance points while UAH tallied 19 on its 13 offensive boards.
 
The championship contest will be shown live by ESPN3/ESPN Full Court, Mediacom, and the Alabama Cable Network. CSS will air the game on tape-delay on Monday, March 11 at 6 p.m. CDT.