SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — Copper Basin had the lead for most of its Region 3-A girls’ basketball semifinal game Monday, but it took until the final minutes for the District 5 champions to put Tennessee Temple away.

And the Lady Cougars did it at the line.

Up three points with just under two minutes to play, Copper Basin made 11 of its 14 free throws the rest of the way. Lindsey Cole’s 6-for-6 performance from the line in the final 23 seconds sealed the 46-34 win and a spot in Wednesday’s championship game against Arts & Sciences, which defeated Grace Academy 67-39.

“They were really patient,” Copper Basin coach Amy McGowan said. “We didn’t force anything and were able to get to the free-throw line a lot. And once we did, we didn’t miss many.”

Her Lady Cougars fell behind early but closed out the first quarter on a 10-0 run. The Lady Crusaders cut their deficit to one point at the break after Janette Elliott scored 12 of their 19 first-half points, but they never could get the basket they needed to tie or take the lead in the second half.

P.J. Sexton opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to get Temple within 28-27, and a putback from Katelynn Robertson made it 33-30 with 1:57 remaining, but McGowan said her Lady Cougars (16-15) earned their 13th victory in their last 15 games by executing their game plan.

“We just had to know the personnel and know how to guard each player,” she said. “We had to get on the boards and box out, and not give them any easy shots. This is exciting. We’ve worked all year to get to this point.”

Cole scored a game-high 16 points and Brittany Hyatt added 10 for Copper Basin. Elliott’s 13 led Temple, which ended its season 17-14.

“Obviously we’d like to keep playing, but it’s been a joy and a privilege to coach that team,” Lady Crusaders coach Mark Alexander said. “No one expected us to get nearly as far as we did this year, and that’s a credit to the girls. I’m just as proud of them now as I would be if we had won.”

District 6 champion Arts & Sciences (28-2) got 14 points apiece from Jamisha Featherstone and Kayla Kelly. CSAS will try to defend its region title Wednesday at 8 p.m. against Copper Basin.

“It always comes down to these elimination games,” Lady Patriots coach Clay Martin said. “The girls have been relaxed, and they came out and played really well. We like playing in this gym. We’ve had four good games here, and hopefully we’ll have one more on Wednesday.”

Grace’s Kaylan Dilts ended her career with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Lady Golden Eagles finished the season 13-15.

“We’re losing one of our program’s most outstanding players ever,” Grace coach Les Compton said. “She’s made major contributions, and I hate to see her go. I just thanked all the girls for their efforts this year. They’re a great group.”

COPPER BASIN 46, TENNESSEE TEMPLE 34

Tenn. Temple 6 10 8 10 — 34

Copper Basin 12 8 8 18 — 46

Tennessee Temple (34) — Cobb, Sexton 6, Janette Elliott 13, Johnson, Kellogg, Dyer 8, Sells 3, Je. Elliott, Robertson 4.

Copper Basin (46) — Dena, Lindsey Cole 16, Stewart 4, Ellison, Loudermilk 3, Brittany Hyatt 10, Bria. Hyattt 7, Stevens, Payne 6.

3-point goals: Temple 3 (Sexton 2, Dyer); Copper Basin none. Records: Copper Basin 16-15; Temple 17-14.

ARTS & SCIENCES 67, GRACE ACADEMY 39

Grace 6 7 10 16 — 39

CSAS 17 15 23 12 — 67

Grace Academy (39) — Cook, Eldridge 5, Daniels 5, Cowart, Wittman, Ka. Darby 2, Kaylan Dilts 20, Hughes, Simpson 6, Kr. Darby, Bartley 1, Compton.

Arts & Sciences (67) — Anthony 9, Wesley, Anderson 8, Buchanan 8, McConnell, Garner 4, Ziegler, Kayla Kelly 14, Mayweather, McPhearson 1, Rodriguez 9, Jamisha Featherstone 14.

3-point goals: Grace 2 (Eldridge, Daniels); CSAS 4 (Rodriguez, Kelly). Records: CSAS 28-2; Grace 13-15.