Verbena girls basketball outlasted Thorsby 45-44 on Jan. 3 in the first round of the 2018 Chilton County Basketball Tournament and advanced to the semifinals.

The Red Devils led 39-34 entering the fourth quarter and hung on to win, as both teams had their chances at the free throw line down the stretch.

Thorsby’s Carlee Wyatt hit two free of free throws and tied the game at 44-all with just over a minute to play.

With 17.9 seconds left in the game, Jasmyn White rimed out pair of free throws, but her sister JaNiya White was there on the offensive boards to grab the second miss and got fouled in the process.

JaNiya White sank a free throw with 14.2 seconds left to secure the victory.

The White sisters had a huge game for the Red Devils, especially on the offensive end where they accounted for all of Verbena’s points in the game.

JaNiya White erupted for a game-high 33 points, which included the game-winning free throw, while Jasmyn White finished with 12 points.

Eighth grader McKinley Sanderson came off the bench to lead Thorsby with 11 points. She scored all of her points in the first half, including three shots from bonus land.

The attacking nature around the rim of the JaNiya and Jasmyn White is something that Verbena will look to continue to feed off of as it moves forward through the county tournament.

Verbena will play No. 2 seed and host CCHS in the semifinals on Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m.