Gulf Shores sophomore guard Taylor Bjorgum didn’t make a shot from the field (0-for-3) in Friday’s Class 5A South Regional girls semifinal against St. Paul’s.

That didn’t matter.

She went 5-of-5 from the free throw line, including three in the final second of the first half that gave the fifth-ranked Dolphins the lead for good on the way to a 45-38 victory at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery.

RELATED: See Friday’s scores, highlights

Gulf Shores (28-6) moves on to play Eufaula in the regional final at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The winner moves on to Birmingham for the final four.

“This one didn’t really go the way we planned it,” Dolphins coach Brian Sexton said. “But that’s the way the playoffs are. We got to 1-0 and now we are 0-0 again. The next game is all that matters. If you played a bad game today or if you played a great game, all that matters is you won. We have to focus now on the next game.”

Neither team played its best game of the season.

Gulf Shores shot 16-of-41 from the field, 2-of-13 from the 3-point line and 11-of-18 from the free throw line. The Dolphins were outrebounded 41-25 and star Keyona Royal was in foul trouble most of the day and finished with just 4 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.

St. Paul’s (20-9) shot 14-of-47 from the field, 3-of-13 from 3-point range and 7-of-14 from the foul line. The Saints committed 24 turnovers.

“It was rough,” Sexton said. “Two of my starters picked up two fouls early . No. 12 (Tristyn Baggett) — it seemed like every time she got on the floor, she touched somebody. But that is the playoffs. You have to be able to adjust. We had a sophomore come off the bench and hit three free throws there before half to give us the lead. That’s huge for a sophomore. That’s what we’ve been preaching all year. Someone has to be ready to step up, and she did.”

Bjorgum was fouled on a 3-pointer with :01 left in the second quarter. She drained all three shots to give Gulf Shores the 24-22 halftime lead. The Dolphins increased the lead to as many as 10, 34-24, with 2:15 left in the third and maintained control most of the fourth.

“Our defense picked up,” Sexton said. “We got out in transition a little bit. They really get up and guard you, and they play hard. Sometimes you choose to sit back instead of putting on the pressure, but when we did, we were finally able to get some buckets.”

Gulf Shores finished with 15 steals. Maggie Myers led the team with 12 points. Alyssa Thompson finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Maya Griffin scored 8 to go with 3 assists and 2 steals.

Bennett Boulo led St. Paul’s with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Clarissa Dupree had 10 points and 13 rebounds.