By Dustin Melchior

PEDRO— The Minford Lady Falcons used their size to take advantage of South Point in the Division III Sectional Finals on Saturday, beating the Lady Pointers 67-45.
Ashley Blankenship was a force inside for Minford, recording a game-high 31 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
Erin Daniels also recorded a double figure game with 19 points and six boards for the Lady Falcons.
“We knew we had a size advantage and that we wanted to get it inside,” Minford head coach Scott Caudil said. “Hats off to Ashley Blankenship. She was great with her points and rebounds. And Erin Daniels is a great floor leader and it’s tough to press us. Those two players played phenomenal.”
South Point (14-9) was led by Emilee Carey, who scored 13 points, including three 3-pointers. The Lady Pointers made 13 field goals and nine were from behind the arc.
Minford (16-6) took an 11-5 first quarter lead as Daniels and Blankenship combined for all 11 points.
“It felt really good to be able to get the ball inside,” Blankenship said. “We played great team ball, and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without my teammates.”
The Lady Pointers came to life in the second quarter with 16 points, as Brooklyn Badgett, Leah Lawson and Carey all hit 3-pointers. Carey had seven points and Leah Lawson four in the quarter.
“I thought our first quarter was bad, but they’re a really good team,” South Point head coach Dave Adams said. “Halfway through the third quarter we got into some foul trouble. Their size proved to be too much. We decided to go small and press, and they handled it.”
Minford went into the break with a 26-21 lead, and ballooned their lead to 41-26 at the end of three. The Lady Falcons outscored South Point 26-19 in the final period to seal the win.
Minford plays at noon on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Waverly’s downtown arena against Alexander.
South Point    5    16    5    19    =    45
Minford    11    15    15    26    =    67
SOUTH POINT (14-9): Emilee Whitt 0 1 1-4 4, Maddy Khounlavong 0 0 0-0 0, Kate Mundy 2 0 2-4 6, Brooklyn Badgett 0 1 2-2 5, Leah Lawson 0 2 1-2 7, Emilee Carey 2 3 0-0 13, Madison Kearns 0 0 4-6 4, Elisha Spencer 0 0 0-0 0, Ashley Perkey 0 0 0-0 0, Abbey Hannah 0 2 0-0 6. Totals: 4 9 10-16 45. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Whitt, Kearns.
MINFORD (16-6): Caitlyn Puckett 3 0 1-5 7, Erin Daniels 6 1 4-6 19, Marissa Risner 1 0 0-0 2, Abby Grasso 1 0 2-4 4, Zoe Doll 0 0 0-0 0, Mary Pica 2 0 0-0 4, Ashley Blankenship 12 0 7-9 31. Totals: 25 1 14-24 67. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.

Jim Walker contributed to this story.