The No. 3 ranked Southwest DeKalb Lady Panthers advanced to the Elite 8 for the 10th time in 12 seasons with a relatively easy 45-26 Class 5A girls’ basketball state playoff home victory over the McIntosh on Wednesday night.

Southwest (25-4) jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead as post player Ruona Uwusaiba went to work on the offensive boards for a pair of put-backs, the last with 5:23 left in the first quarter for the 8-0. She would take passes from Chantz Cherry and Jada Walton to finish eight points in the period.

McIntosh’s (20-9) DeLayne Rotolo got hot in the quarter hitting her third three-pointer with 31 seconds to play to pull her team within 14-11.

Walton, a 1,000-point career scorer and Texas A&M signee, answered with four seconds left in the quarter with a three of her own to send the Panthers into the second quarter up 17-11.

Southwest opened the second period with an 8-0 run with Uwusaiba added two more baskets to go with an outside shot from Walton and a steal and layup by Cherry to push the lead out to 25-11.

McIntosh got just one basket in the second period, a layup by Kennedi Miller. Walton hit a layup on a nice pass from Michaella Benefield as the Panthers went into halftime up 27-13.

Leading 29-14 with 5:52 to play, Southwest got three-pointers from Lanee Edwards on back-to-back trips down the floor to expand the lead to 21 (35-14) with 4:54 to play.

McIntosh would end the quarter with a rebound and layup by Anna Muh and Rotolo hitting two of three from the line to close the gap to 35-18 with one quarter to play.

Rotolo opened the final period with a three-pointer to close the gap to 14 (21-35), but the Panthers answered quickly as Walton found Uwusaiba across the lane as she drove to the basket for an easy layup and foul. She hit the free throw to complete the three-point play. Walton made it 40-21 on another assist from Benefield for a layup with 5:15 to play in the game.

Southwest hit five of seven free throws in the final 2:47 to close out the 45-26 victory. Uwusaiba finished with 17 points and 5 rebounds while Walton chipped in 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Rotolo led McIntosh with 16 points and 6 rebounds in the game.

The Panthers advance to play Eagles Landing (26-3), a 53-39 winner over Lithia Springs, on Tuesday. A coin toss will decide who gets to have home court advantage as both teams are No. 1 seeds from their regions.

In other Class 5A girls’ play, Arabia Mountain finished the season with a 20-6 record as the Lady Rams fell on the road 49-36 to Griffin (27-1).

Class 6A
Stephenson advanced to the Elite 8 for the fourth time in five seasons with a 59-41 victory over River Ridge on Wednesday night.

The Lady Jaguars (20-10) fell in the first round last year after winning the state title in 2015.

Naomi Holloway put in a game-high 25 points to lead the Lady Jags in the victory.

Stephenson travels to Region 7-6A No. 1 seed Northview (27-3), a 74-54 winner over Valdosta on Wednesday night, for a Tuesday game with tipoff to be announced.

The No. 1 seeded Tucker Lady Tigers finished their season at 22-7 with a 43-35 loss to Harrison (24-5) at home on Wednesday. Tucker pulled within one in the third quarter after falling behind 22-14 at the half, but could not keep up in the third quarter.

Class 3A
Beach (26-2) ended the Redan Lady Raiders (20-7) season with a 56-34 victory at Redan on Wednesday.

Six DeKalb boy’s teams play on Thursday in the Sweet 16 with only Miller Grove hosting. Columbia is the only girls’ team playing on Thursday.

The full schedule is listed below.

DCSD BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFFS RESULTS
Sweet 16 Round
Wednesday, Feb. 22
Girls
Class 3A
Beach (26-2) 52, Redan (20-7) 34

Class 5A
SW DeKalb (25-4) 45, McIntosh (20-9) 26
Griffin (27-1) 49, Arabia Mountain (20-6) 36

Class 6A
Harrison (23-6) 43, Tucker (22-7) 35
Stephenson (20-10) 59, River Ridge (19-12) 41

DCSD BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 23
Class 5A Girls
Columbia (16-7) vs. Warner Robins (26-1) at Veterans, 5:30 pm

Boys
Class 5A
Starr’s Mill (18-10) at Miller Grove (19-8), 6:00 pm
Columbia (21-7) at Fayette Co. (21-7), 7:00 pm
SW DeKalb (17-12) vs. Warner Robins (25-3) at Veterans, 7:00 pm
Lithonia (12-16) at Riverdale (12-11), 7:00 pm

Class 3A
Cedar Grove (17-6) at Jenkins (21-7), 6:00 pm

Tuesday, Feb. 28
Class 5A Girls
Eagle’s Landing (26-3) vs. SW DeKalb (25-4), TBA

Class 6A Girls
Stephenson (20-10) at Northview (27-3), TBA