The Charles Henderson Lady Trojans clinched home court advantage in the Class 5A Sub-Regional tournament after Wednesday’s 51-34 win over Eufaula in the area championship.

“I saw fire in their hearts tonight,” said Trojans head coach Dyneshia Jones. “Like I have been saying, it’s hard to beat a team three times. They came out with intensity and they wanted it.”

Between the size of the Maori Davenport and Tatyana Siler and the shooting ability of India Davenport the Tigers were searching for answers all evening long.

The Trojans jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter and after a brief Tiger run, the Trojans entered the second quarter with a 13-9 lead.

In the second quarter, height made the difference for the Trojans. Charles Henderson had numerous offensive rebound opportunities and outscored the Eagles 9-1.

“That means a lot,” Jones said. “Offensive rebounds mean more points. It’s very important.”

Davenport’s height helped the Trojans.

“That was very important,” Jones said. “We have a six-foot-four post player down there (Davenport). It’s hard to defend her when she is playing her A game. When Maori is on point and everyone else is in sync, it’s hard to stop us.”

The Tigers briefly got to within three points of the Trojans in the third period after scoring on three consecutive trips. Jones called a timeout to settle the troops, and the Trojans closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 43-23 lead.

The Trojans rode out the final eight minutes of the ball game with most of the starters on the bench.

Davenport led the Trojans in scoring with 18 points while Siler finished with 12.

The Trojans will now set their sites on the Sub-Regional tournament, which begins Monday at Charles Henderson.

“One game at a time and one step at a time,” Jones said. “It feels good to be able to play at home. That was one of our goals. We know our floor.”