Brilliant girls basketball coach Ryan Sanderson would like everyone to watch Brooke O’Mary play basketball.

“She puts everything into it,” Sanderson said of his 4-foot-11 guard. “She leaves it all on the floor.”

Sanderson and company will be playing one more game in Birmingham this week thanks in large part to O’Mary. The junior made key play after key play down the stretch on Monday as the Tigers edged McIntosh 54-51 in overtime.

Brilliant (24-11) will play either No. 1 Spring Garden or R.C. Hatch for the Class 1A girls championship at 4 p.m. Thursday.

RELATED: Monday’s scores, highlights

“Our girls came to play today, and they’ll be playing for a state championship on Thursday,” Sanderson said. “I couldn’t be more proud.”

It wasn’t easy on Monday for the Tigers, who had to overcome junior center Hadlee Sanderson’s early foul trouble and cope with a dominating performance from McIntosh center Chauncey Dixon.

The 6-foot-2 senior finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds, 7 steals, 5 blocks and four assists in her final high school game. She made 14 of her team’s 24 baskets from the field.

“She made me proud,” McIntosh coach Shaynae Barnes-Dixon said. “I’m proud to be her coach. I’m proud to be her mom. She’s my ring. She’s my treasure.”

Without Sanderson on the floor to help defend Dixon, Brilliant still was able to stay within striking distance. The Demons led 14-11 after one quarter and 21-17 at the half. The game was tied 29-29 after three quarters. McIntosh’s largest lead in the game was just 6 points.

Sanderson, who had three first-half fouls, picked up her fourth with 6:19 left in the game but never fouled out. She scored 11 of her 17 points the rest of the way. Her two free throws with 51.5 seconds left in regulation gave Brilliant a 41-39 lead. McIntosh’s Alisa Johnson tied it with a jumper to force overtime.

“I thought when Hadlee went out of the game, our other girls played their tails off to keep us in it,” Ryan Sanderson said.

The teams traded the lead in overtime until O’Mary, the smallest player on the court, grabbed an offensive rebound and drove for the go-ahead layup, giving her team a 53-51 edge. After McIntosh’s Jayla Brown missed a shot on the other end, O’Mary hit one of two free throws for the final margin.

She finished with 11 points, 6 steals, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. She also took a crucial charge late in the game.

“I was really hoping I could make that layup,” she said. “I knew it was tight at that point.”

McIntosh (25-8) had one last chance to send the game into a second overtime, but Zoie Miller’s desperation 3 was off.

Star of the game: Macy was the difference maker in the final seconds, but Dixon was dominant on both ends for McIntosh.

Stat sheet: Brilliant – Sanderson added 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Macy Moore had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Laine Johnson had 8 points and 8 rebounds; McIntosh – Marley Dixon was the only other Demon in double figures with 10 points. She also had 6 rebounds and 5 steals. Dixon was 14-of-20 from the field.

By the numbers: Brilliant was 18-of-48 from the field, 8-of-24 from 3-point range and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. McIntosh was 24-of-58 from the field but just 1-of-14 from 3-point range and 2-of-15 from the foul line. McIntosh had a 42-18 edge in points in the paint. The game was tied 11 times. The teams combined for 39 turnovers.

Did you know? Brilliant will play for its first girls state basketball title on Thursday.

The said it:

“I was proud of the way we fought with Hadlee out and no true center in the game. 3 (Dixon) is a great player and she was a problem. We tried our best to get under her, but she still had a great game.” – Ryan Sanderson.

“We’ve never been here. We made school history. I knew there would be a lot of emotion out there. I was nervous. I’m sure the team was nervous. But we worked hard to get here. You just try to set emotion aside and play as hard as you can.” – Moore.

“I couldn’t ask for a better, harder working group. They were really committed and dedicated. We worked hard to get here, and I’m proud of them.” – Barnes-Dixon.

“I gave it all I had. I could have done some things better, but we had a great season, and it was great to be a part of this team.” – Chauncey Dixon.