Gaylesville hung tough for the first 32 minutes of the girls Class 1A, Area 10 tournament play-in game last Friday at Spring Garden, but Cedar Bluff eventually came out of the Panther Den with a 75-52 victory.

Ashley Slayton’s basket with 33 seconds left in the third quarter drew the No. 6 seed Lady Trojans within 48-40 entering the final eight minutes.

The No. 3 seed Lady Tigers closed the door with a 20-7 run, however, with Leann Moten scoring 16 points in the final 6:35 to help Cedar Bluff advance to Tuesday’s semifinal round.

Moten knocked down 8-of-12 foul shots in the final period while shooting 11-for-16 overall from the charity stripe.

Moten and Audrie Rucker each finished with 24 points, with the latter collecting 10 rebounds, eight assists and six steals.

Caroline May added 16 points.

Cassandra Waldron led Gaylesville with 15 points, followed by Desiree Tallent with 13.

Behind Rucker’s 10 points, Cedar Bluff came out of the first frame with a 19-11 advantage.

Consecutive three-point baskets from Tallent cut the Lady Tiger lead to 25-23 midway through the second quarter, but Cedar Bluff ending the period with a 9-2 run to head into the locker room up 34-27.

Waldron’s trey 10 seconds into the second half made it a four-point Gaylesville deficit, but the Lady Trojans could get no closer than 10 points the rest of the quarter before Slayton’s field goal cut the Cedar Bluff lead to eight heading into the final period.

May’s two free throws five seconds into the fourth quarter sparked a 27-12 Cedar Bluff stretch that settled matters for good, and Moten’s two foul shots with 45 seconds remaining putt the icing on Cedar Bluff’s first win of the postseason.

CEDAR BLUFF (75): Audrie Rucker 24, Leann Moten 24, Caroline May 16, Mimi Long 9, Brittany Combs 2.

GAYLESVILLE (52): Cassandra Waldron 15, Desiree Tallent 13, Ashley Slayton 6, Sloane Brewster 6, Sasha Bruce 4, Becky Vernon 4, Tiffany Haney 3, Rachael McCool 1.

In the other play-in game, Collinsville defeated Faith Christian, 52-40