PIGEON FORGE-Surviving and advancing is the key to postseason basketball.

The Lady Warriors of Newport Grammar School did both on Friday evening.

NGS squandered a seven-point lead after three quarters and then persevered through a pair of overtimes to take a 46-44 victory over Oneida Middle School in the semifinals of the TMSAA Class AA East Sectional tournament at Pigeon Forge Middle School.

The Lady Warriors advanced to the finals of the tournament to be held on Saturday at 3 p.m. NGS faced either New Center or Chuckey-Doak Middle School in the finals of the tournament.

“I’m proud of how we fought,” Lady Warriors coach Steve Souder said. “They stayed in the game obviously until the end.

“There was times with Oneida reclaimed the momentum, and I’m so proud of how they fought through it,” Souder said.

For the full stor, see the February 9-10 weekend edition of the Newport Plain Talk.