Priceville coach Terrie Nelson had a hard time containing her joy Tuesday afternoon.

Why should she?

Her Bulldogs will play for the school’s first state girls basketball title later this week.

Priceville, unranked at the end of the regular season, built a 15-point halftime lead on No. 7 UMS-Wright and cruised to a 56-36 victory at Legacy Arena in Birmingham in the Class 4A semifinals.

“What a ride,” Nelson said following the win. “I love this ride. I don’t want to get off. I’m so excited. I think about every player before this, and they all helped build this. The legacies the girls before them left and weren’t able to get the job done, and these girls got it done. This is for all of those in the past and all the girls in the future.”

RELATED: Live updates from Tuesday’s games

Priceville finished as the Area 13 runner-up, losing to No. 1 Good Hope in the final. Nelson’s team hasn’t lost since. The run included an upset victory over No. 2 Deshler in the Northwest Regional final.

“I held that runner-up trophy, and it didn’t sit well with me,” Nelson said of the area tournament loss. “It didn’t set well with the kids either.”

They played like it on Tuesday.

Priceville held UMS to just 25.5 percent shooting (13-of-51), turned 22 turnovers into 25 points and had a dominating 28-6 edge in points in the paint.

“Defense has been a big part of our focus all year,” Nelson said. “We love to play fast. We don’t want to slow down, and one way to do that is to get after it on defense. Our goal is to play fast, put up points and beat the heck out of people.”

Priceville opened the third quarter on a 15-3 run, extending the lead to 44-19.

Ballgame.

“They do a good job defensively,” UMS coach Terry Canova said. “They kind of keep you confused. We were tight early. We had some opportunities to make some shots and didn’t finish. Anytime you are on a stage like this and have an opportunity, you have to finish. As the lead increased, it just got tougher and, on the flip side, it allows them to play even harder on defense. They made it tough on us today.”

Star of the game: Sophomore Leslie Hames scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.

Stat sheet: Priceville – Gracin Prater had 12 points, seven steals, five assists and four rebounds. Lauren Hames and Abby Langlois each scored eight. Ashlyn Johnson had 10 rebounds. Eight players score for Priceville. UMS – Noel Freeman scored 13 points on 6-of-16 shooting. She also had 13 rebounds. Elizabeth Meador was 4-of-12 from 3-point range to finish with 12 points.

By the numbers: Priceville shot 39 percent from the field (20-of-51) but was just 3-of-16 from 3-point range. Priceville hit 13 of its 22 free throws. UMS was just 3-of-4. Canova’s team was 7-of-22 from 3-point range.

They said it:

“I think it’s a dream sometimes. I woke up this morning, and I was having a talk with Jesus. I was just like, ‘Oh my goodness, we are doing this.’ It’s like everything we fought and worked for during the summer. The feeling at the end of the game as just awesome.” – Nelson.

“This group has been extremely scary loose. The day before the Deshler game I was almost aggravated because everyone was so loose and happy. I wondered if we were ready. Today, I thought they were a little nervous early but still loose and ready to play. I think that has been the key all year. They don’t get too uptight about anything.”

“I think us being fearless is a big key. In some groups in the past, we’ve been so uptight. It gets into our heads. One thing the coaches talked to us about today was not to get too uptight because it can force us into turnovers and other things.” – Lauren Hames.

“I’m so excited. I want to finish it. This is what we’ve worked for all year.” – Prater.

“Today didn’t turn out like we wanted it to, but this won’t define our season. Anytime you win 30 games, it’s special. This has been a tremendous year. It’s a special group, a special season. I’m happy they let me go along for the ride.” – Canova.

“I don’t think anyone expected us to have this type of season after we lost five seniors. At the beginning of the summer, we didn’t know who we were. I thought we connected the last few games and learned our strengths and weaknesses. I could see that throughout the season.” – Meador.

“I felt like they knew us like the back of their hand. I give credit to them. They did a great job of putting defensive pressure on us.” – Freeman on Priceville’s defense.

Next up: Priceville (23-9) will play either Prattville Christian or New Hope in the Class 4A state title game at 4 p.m. Friday