DUANE SHERRILLSports Writer

The West Middle School girls are one step from a state berth after making it to the Area finals this past week, knocking off Lewis County and E.O. Coffman middle schools on their way to their battle with Battle Creek.

The finals were scheduled for Tuesday night and the results were not available at press time. However, with a win, West was set to play host to a round of 32 game in the sectionals.

After a strong showing in the CTC tournament the week before, the West girls dispatched Lewis County 37-14 before squaring off with E.O. Coffman and winning a decisive 37-25 victory to punch their ticket to the showdown in Columbia last night.

Faith Vincent crushed it in the Lewis County game, nearly outscoring the opposition herself as she put 15 on the night.

She had eight against Coffman in the semi-finals, all in the second half. Emerald Tillman was the high scorer for West in the first half against Coffman, notching seven in the first and two in the second. Tillman led all scorers in the semi-final affair with 15 on the night in a game that saw the squads square at 12 at the half. That was when Vincent showed up and scored all 10 of her points, helping her team extend the lead to seven by the end of the third. The fourth saw both Tillman and Vincent combine for 11 of their team’s fourth period points. Madalin Lidstrom donated the other two points of the final quarter.