The team bus will remain in Decatur for Saturday's TSSAA Class AA girls' basketball state sectional.
In its sixth region final appearance in seven years, Meigs County controlled the pace of play and used a breakout shooting performance by junior Jaci Powell to beat Red Bank 55-48 in Wednesday's 3-AA championship game at East Ridge High School.
Led by a hard press and quick guards, the Lady Tigers won their first region crown since 1995 - also the season when the program won its second state championship in a three-year span.
"This is a big deal for us to play sub-state at home now," said Powell, whose quick release and stroke could not have been any hotter as she hit four of her five 3-pointers in Meigs County's 28-point second quarter.
"Most of us have played together since elementary school, and we feel like we know each other perfectly. We are so happy. All of the running we do and our hard work is paying off. These games are exhilarating."
When the Lady Lions (28-6) were able to get the ball past a tough helpside defense, senior Bailey Lee was able to assert her will. However, those chances were not frequent enough for Red Bank, and Ansley Wade and Jacelyn Stone often stepped into the passing lanes and stripped the ball to speed to pivotal scores for the athletic Lady Tigers (24-9).
Wade had three steals early, while tournament MVP Stone had three in a three-minute stretch in the third quarter, including one she finished by scoring to build a 45-30 lead with 2:52 remaining in the period. Meigs allowed only four points in the quarter.
"We press a lot, and our coach always wants us to run the floor quickly," said Powell, who scored 19 points. "That's a big part of why we are so tough. I had never hit four 3-pointers in one varsity quarter before, but I knew I had to bring myself back down and play good defense with my teammates to win a tough game."
Red Bank tried to rally late. Raijeria Bell hit a fadeaway jumper from the baseline with 2:12 left to play in the fourth and cap an 8-0 run, cutting the deficit to 49-43. Bell finished with 18 points, while Lee totaled 14 and Arteya Scott had 11.
However, the Lady Tigers put the game out of reach late by making six of eight free throws in the final 1:46.
Meigs County's Anna Crowder scored eight of her 12 points in the second quarter. Stone finished with 10 points, five steals and five assists.
"I am just so happy for our girls to get to experience a packed house at home one last time," said Lady Tigers coach Jason Powell, whose team will host the winner of Thursday's region final between Macon County and Upperman. "Those games in front of your entire fan base are the ones girls really remember and ones like tonight."
Red Bank will travel to the winner of the Macon County-Upperman game.
"Anything can happen," Red Bank coach Bailey McGinnis said. "Very few teams are still sitting in a locker room right now in our state. We are looking at the positives. To see how far they have come is amazing. This was the first time in 25 years we had played in a region championship."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.