HANCEVILLE — Fairfield Prep girls basketball coach Tiffany Frederick needed a minute to catch her breath.

“Ya’ll are going to have to excuse me, I’m still living in the moment,” Frederick said, walking into the media room at Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum with a smile. “I’m just ecstatic right now.”

Go ahead coach, take your time. After Fairfield’s dramatic 47-45 win over Hartselle in the Class 5A girls Northwest Regional semifinal, any coach would have been out of breath.

That’s what happens when your team overcomes an early 11-point deficit, a very late three-point deficit, six ties and six lead changes.

Trailing 45-42 with just over 1:30 remaining in regulation, Fairfield (26-8) scored the game’s final five points to advance to Friday’s regional final against Russellville. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:20 p.m.

Tied at 45-apiece late in the fourth quarter, Fairfield’s Jazmine Saxton stole a Hartselle inbounds pass and drew a foul with 16 seconds left. She nailed what turned out to be two game-winning free throws.

Saxton finished with 15 points and Kendra Watts added 14 for Fairfield, which trailed 23-16 at halftime and fell behind 27-16 early in the second half before the dramatic ending.

“We definitely weren’t communicating (in the first half),” said Frederick. “I told them in the locker room that we weren’t playing Lady Tiger basketball.”

Katie Miller led Hartselle (19-14) with 16 points and eight rebounds, both game highs. Alex Holmes added 14 points and Taylor White scored seven.

• Russellville 60, Brewer 41: The more his team breaks new ground, the more old-fashioned James Bostick gets.

“I’m old school,” said the Russellville High girls basketball coach. “I remember before the 3-point line, everybody said, ‘Pound the paint.’ Well, we pounded the paint.”

Did they ever.

Junior forward Natasha West led Russellville with a game-high 28 points while senior forward Erin Reynolds added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore center Amber Elliott chipped in 10 points and six blocks — including four after halftime — as the Golden Tigers (21-6) eliminated last year’s Class 5A runner-up. They’ll face Fairfield Friday at 12:20 p.m. in the regional final, with the winner heading to the Final 48 in Birmingham.

“This is new ground for us,” said Bostick. “These girls have worked so hard for this over the last few years, and I’m so proud of them.”

Russellville took control of the game with a 13-0 run spanning the second and third quarters. Leading 26-22 late in the first half, the Golden Tigers scored the final five points before the break to take a 31-22 advantage into the locker room.

They scored eight more unanswered points after the break, taking a 39-22 lead before Brewer’s Chelsey Smith hit a 3-pointer with 4:30 remaining in the third period.

Russellville converted 21 Brewer turnovers into 21 points. The Golden Tigers attempted just five 3-pointers, making one.

Chelsey Smith led Brewer (21-6) with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Elizabeth Bromirski added 12 points.

• Clements 37, Red Bay 35: Second-ranked Clements got a scare in the Class 2A regional semifinals, escaping with a close win over unranked Red Bay (14-15).

The Colts (29-3) advance to play top-ranked Cold Springs in the regional final Saturday morning at 9 a.m.

Plagued by turnovers, Clements struggled to build any momentum. The Colts only led 6-5 after the first quarter and carried a slim 17-16 advantage into halftime.

Clements outscored Red Bay 5-4 in the fourth quarter, escaping Red Bay’s upset bid.

Freshman center Daneshia Malone accounted for almost half of Clements’ offensive production, scoring 15 points. Jordan Beggs added five.

Whitney Sharp and Morgan McKinney led Red Bay with 11 points each.

Varsity Boys

• Butler 60, Walker 36: The Rebels had a simple strategy heading into their regional opener.

“We wanted to make sure (Walker) never felt comfortable executing,” said Butler coach Jack Doss.

Mission accomplished.

Top-ranked Butler put on a defensive clinic, dominating Walker in the Class 5A boys semifinals. The two-time defending state champion Rebels (23-6) advance to face Lee-Huntsville in the regional final Friday at 2 p.m. The winner advances to the Final 48 in Birmingham.

Malcolm Brooks and C.J. Steele led a balanced Rebels attack with 11 points each, while Fred Stewart and Ryan Ervin added 10 apiece. Ervin grabbed 11 rebounds for Butler, which held a 32-25 advantage on the boards.

The Rebels were playing without standout sophomore guard Trevor Lacey, who suffered a knee injury in Butler’s Class 5A, Area 16 championship loss to Lee.

Justin Kamplain scored nine points to pace Walker (16-14), which shot 18-for-64 (28 percent) from the field and made only 3 of 15 3-pointers.

Leading 14-12 after one period, Butler took control with a 17-6 run in the second quarter, heading into halftime ahead 31-18. The Rebels led 45-26 after three quarters and held a 27-point advantage at one point in the fourth quarter.

Mikeil Jones, Jason Walker, Chancellor Allen and Jacquese Kirk added four points each for Walker.

• Lee-Huntsville 59, Fairfield 52: Josh Langford scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading Lee-Huntsville past Fairfield.

The Generals (22-10) advance to face top-ranked Butler for the fourth time this season. The Rebels won the first two meetings before falling in the Class 5A, Area 16 title game, snapping a 14-game winning streak against their cross-town rivals.

Lee started slow, falling behind 7-1 before rallying to make it a one-point game after the opening period.

The Generals took control in the second, outscoring Fairfield (14-14) 23-8 for a 36-22 halftime advantage. Lee converted 15 first-half turnovers into 13 points.

Allen Pride tossed in 15 points for Lee, while Devin Langford had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Donzell Little led Fairfield with 13 points, while Alexander Tate and Maurice Arrington added 11 each.

• Tanner 73, Lamar County 62: Matthew Hines poured in a game-high 20 points, leading the Rattlers past Lamar County (16-7) in the Class 2A regional semifinals.

The Rattlers advance to play Mars Hill in the regional final Saturday morning at 10:40 a.m.

Tanner (16-10) blew open a tight game in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 18-11.

Tre Cosby added 15 points for Tanner while Marquis McDonald scored 14.

Jimmy Lann paced Lamar County with 16 points and nine rebounds.