History was in the making Saturday night as the Thompson Lady Warriors held off Pelham, 77-62, to capture their first-ever area basketball tournament title since making the move to Class 6A.

&8220;It&8217;s a great accomplishment this year, but they better watch out, because we&8217;re going to do it again next year,&8221; said leading scorer Rhonda Watts.

Watts led the way with 20 points in the championship game, including 12 in the fourth quarter to lead the Warriors (25-6).

While Thompson jumped out early to build an 18-12 first quarter lead, Pelham did not give up and fought back to cut the game to five points, 31-26 at halftime.

&8220;Our kids played with a ton of heart,&8221; Pelham Coach Casey Smith said. &8220;They&8217;re young, but they don&8217;t have any gear. We&8217;re just close enough to executing some of those put-backs. A couple of buckets here or there and the reflection of the game changes,&8221; Smith said.

While momentum mounted for the Panthers, the Warriors remained steady.

&8220;We knew it was going to be a tough game and if we panicked, we knew everyone else would panic,&8221; Watts said while standing with senior Chasity Herron.

Thompson will now host Northridge in the sub-regional Thursday at 7 p.m., while Pelham (23-7) will travel to the undefeated Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (32-0).