The Gulf Shores seniors took a little extra time in the lockerroom during halftime of Wednesday’s Class 5A South Regional girls championship.

The fifth-ranked Dolphins trailed Eufaula 30-21 at that point.

“We were all in agreement about how we didn’t want that to be our last game,” point guard Maya Griffin said. “We all needed to lock in and get some things fixed that were broke in the first half. They were breaking down our defense, and our defense is what we bring to the court.”

Mission accomplished.

The Dolphins outscored Eufaula 33-14 in the second half and won going away, 54-44, to earn the school’s first trip to the final four in Birmingham.

“I feel like going to Birmingham sets up a whole different level of basketball for our program,” Griffin said. “In my four years, we haven’t made it to the final four. We haven’t even made it to the Elite 8. Last year, we lost in the sub-regionals with no seniors. As we went on this summer, we had in our mind that this was our year, and I think we are proving to everyone that this really is our year.”

Gulf Shores (29-6) will play No. 8 Scottsboro (26-6) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Class 5A state semifinals at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena. The Wildcats defeated Southside-Gadsden in the Northeast Regional final on Wednesday.

“First time in Gulf Shores history,” head coach Brian Sexton said. “We thought we could get here. And now that we are here, it’s another game for us. We will be ready to represent the South.”

The Dolphins struggled in the first half. Griffin picked up two fouls in the first quarter and had to sit on the bench for a spell. Her team trailed 18-14 after a quarter. The Tigers (16-12) led by as many as 10, 26-16, in the second quarter before settling for the nine-point halftime lead.

“In the first half, we were a little flat on defense,” Sexton said. “We gave up 30. In the second half, we did what we were supposed to do.”

Gulf Shores started the second half with six straight points and finally tied the game 34-34 on Griffin’s layup just before the quarter break. The senior finished with 24 points and 4 steals and never picked up a third foul.

“She scares me,” Sexton said of Griffin, who was named MVP. “She’s so aggressive and so good and strong. Other teams can get physical with her, and she doesn’t get a lot of calls because she fights through it. She powered through. She played smart and really kept us in the game.”

The Dolphins took the lead for good on Tristyn Baggett’s 3-pointer at 40-37. Maggie Myers’ 3 with 3:53 left gave Gulf Shores a 46-39 lead and forced a Eufaula timeout. Myers hit all three of her 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 11 points and 5 assists.

“We came back, got it tied going into the fourth, and that’s what you want,” Sexton said. “Tied up in an 8-minute game. Maggie hit some huge shots. Keyonna (Royal) has struggled on offense, but she never got her head down. She kept playing defense and rebounding, and they were all big for us.”

Ganielle Palmer led Eufaula with 22 points. Jamariona Henderson followed with 11 but didn’t score in the second half.

Did you know? Gulf Shores finished 16-16 a year ago and didn’t make the regional tournament.

“We’ve really worked in the offseason. We returned everyone from last year. How do you get better? Team building. Culture. When they stay in there, that is them working on our culture.” — Sexton on his seniors staying in the lockerroom extra time at the half.

By the numbers: Gulf Shores was 17-of-38 from the field (44.7 percent), 8-of-19 from 3-point range (42 percent) and 12-of-18 from the free throw line (66.7 percent). Eufaula was 13-of-38 from the field (34.2 percent), 4-of-17 from 3 (23.5 percent) and 14-of17 from the foul line (82.4 percent).