JACKSONVILLE - Cherokee County senior guard Darbie Rosser admits she's had several games this season where she hasn't shot the ball from the perimeter well.

Tuesday's Class 4A Northeast Regional semifinal game at Jacksonville State against No. 9 Randolph wasn't one of those games.

Rosser connect on eight of her 10 shot attempts on the Pete Mathews Coliseum floor, including a 3-for-5 shooting performance from the 3-point line, and finished with a game-high 23 points to lead the No. 10 Lady Warriors to a 37-26 victory.

The win propels Cherokee County (25-6) to Saturday's 9 a.m. regional championship game against No. 7 Madison County (24-6). Madison County defeated No. 6 Anniston 49-43 in other regional semifinal action on Tuesday.

It's the first time the Lady Warriors have reached the regional final since 2000, when they lost to Guntersville in triple-overtime, 53-51.

"I just wanted to come out here and start right at the beginning," Rosser said of her performance Tuesday. "We knew they would guard the lane a lot, and as a guard, I just knew we were going to have some open shots. We were going to have to drive because Tori (Davis) wasn't going to be open a lot. We put an emphasis on defense, and I just think we did a really good job."

Doing a good job defensively might be a bit of an understatement.

The Lady Warriors held Randolph (24-6) without a basket until a 3-pointer by junior Anna Woodard with 2:17 left in the second quarter. Cherokee County led 10-2 at the end of the first quarter and held a 22-9 advantage at halftime.

"Seventy-five percent of our practice goes into defense, and that's what we did the past three days," Cherokee County coach Travis Barnes said. "When we plan for a team, we always plan defense first. I think at this point of the season, that's what wins, and that's what we put a lot of emphasis on."

Speaking of defense, Randolph took Davis away on the inside, limiting her to just four points and two rebounds.

But that's when Rosser stepped up when her teammates needed her the most.

"I think she carried us offensively in this game," Barnes said. "She had 23 points, and our next leading scorers (Chelsea Ray and Jessen Burk) had five. That kind of speaks for itself. You always want to see who's going to step up on a stage like this, and Darbie did a great job of that tonight."

Randolph coach Ronnie Stapler said Rosser "is a little better than I thought she was."

"She shot the ball well, but she drove the ball too," Stapler said. "She made a couple of acrobatic shots, and when she's doing that, it's just hard to play against them.

"It's hard to win a game when you start 0-for-17 (from the floor), but I thought we played pretty well defensively all night. When we hold somebody to 40, we've got a chance, but tonight we just couldn't get the ball in the basket. We dug ourselves a hole, and we're not athletic enough to get back in a game like that."

Senior forward Laura Van Peursem led the Lady Raiders with 12 points and six rebounds. Morgan Tipton tallied nine points and three steals.

Senior guard Madison Brannon led the Lady Warriors underneath the boards with seven rebounds. She also had two assists and a steal.

"I'm proud of our girls, especially our seniors," Barnes said. "We had a great game plan, and I thought we executed it very well. It feels good to come down here and win the first game. We've been down here a couple of times before and we've lost in the first round, but it feels good to advance on to the championship game."

Added Brannon: "This is my first time getting this experience. It's very exciting. I'm happy for the seniors and our team."