UMS-Wright senior Elizabeth Meador had her hands full Wednesday afternoon.

Bulldogs coach Terry Canova called on the 5-foot-8 guard to defend Jackson’s 6-foot-3 Alabama commit Naomi Jones for most of the team’s Class 4A South Regional final at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery.

He then needed her on the offensive end to preserve a victory in the final minutes.

Meador’s 3-pointer with 2:31 left gave UMS the lead for good in a 48-46 victory that sent Canova’s team to the final four for the fifth time in school history.

RELATED: Wednesday’s regional scores, highlights

“Unbelievable,” Canova said. “This team has just exceeded everyone’s expectations. I have so much respect for Jackson and what they do. They are well coached. They have a tremendous team with a big-time post player who is going to Alabama and another guard who is going to play in college.

“Hats off to my girls. All we did as coaches was give them a plan, and the executed it. They put in the work and played their tails off.”

Jones had her moments in the game, finishing with 14 points and 19 rebounds as the Aggies (29-5) rallied from a 10-point deficit to take the lead on several occasions in the final quarter. Jackson had already beaten UMS once this season, winning 52-44 in Mobile on Dec. 28.

“Naomi is a whale of a player,” Canova said. “We gave up a lot of size today. When we played them the first time, their guards made some tremendous shots. We knew we would have to guard Naomi with more than one player, so we started Elizabeth, who is as tough as they come, on her.

“We thought she might be able to take some charges and she did take one early and could have had another one. We felt like by doing that, we might frustrate Naomi a bit. We were going to bring a double team anyway, and we don’t have that many bigs to start with. It turned out to be just enough.”

Nevertheless, Jones gave Jackson a 44-42 lead with a three-point play with 2:42 left in the game. However, 11 seconds later, Meador drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer. She finished the game with 11 points and three rebounds. She was 3-of-9 from 3-point range.

“Goodness,” Canova said. “We didn’t ask much of her, did we? We asked a 5-foot-8 guard to defend a 6-foot-3 SEC player on one end of the floor and then come down and make a big shot on the other end. What more can you say? That is the epitome of our team. They do all the little things, all the gritty things.”

Bailey Washington drilled two free throws with 28 seconds left to give UMS a 47-44 cushion. An Erica Walton basket cut the margin to 47-46 with 15 seconds left, but MVP Noel Freeman hit one-of-two free throws and then grabbed an offensive rebound to help close out the game.

Star of the game: Freeman was the MVP, but Meador might have been the biggest star after her gutsy defense of Jones.

Stat sheet: UMS – Freeman finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Ameila Meador had 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jackson – Tyra Caves had 10 points. Jameshia Powell added eight.

By the numbers: UMS shot 39.5 percent from the field (17-of-43), 34.8 percent from 3 (8-of-23) and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (6-of-9). Jackson shot 39.2 percent from the field (20-of-51), 25 percent from 3 (2-of-8) and 44 percent from the free throw line (4-of-9). UMS won the rebounding battle 33-29, but Jackson had a 36-16 advantage in points in the paint and a 15-5 advantage in second chance points.

Did you know? UMS-Wright also went to the final four in 1997, 2006, 2015 and 2016. They lost in the finals in both 1997 and 2006.

Did you know 2? UMS, ranked No. 7 in the final ASWA Class 4A poll of the season, has beaten No. 6 T.R. Miller, No. 4 Jackson and No. 8 Geneva in its last three games.

They said it:

“They’ve got two players going to play college basketball and we’ve got two that will be playing for their sorority in college, but this team has been so much fun to coach. They just play for each other. What a great experience to be able to share it.” – Canova.

Next up: UMS-Wright (30-5) will play Priceville or Deshler in the Class 4A semifinals at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena.