There is a different feeling surrounding the Prattville girls basketball team after the Lions clinched their second straight trip to the final four Tuesday afternoon.

“I know it may sound a little cliché, but they learned they belong last year,” Prattville coach Erica DuBois said. “It’s not, ‘Oh, we may be able to get here or whatever.’ No, they feel like they are supposed to be here. When you feel that internally, you play that way on the floor. They know we are a program that should be competing in the final four.”

That’s exactly what the 10th-ranked Lions will do again next week after they pulled away from Enterprise in the fourth quarter for a 65-40 victory in the Class 7A South Regional final at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery. Prattville (23-5) will play Hewitt-Trussville at noon Feb. 29 in the state semifinals at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.

“It’s a blessing,” DuBois said. “I just found out that we actually made history. This is the first time in Prattville history that we’ve actually gone back-to-back. It’s a big deal for me. I was involved with the very first one. It’s a big deal for the girls.”

Prattville lost to eventual champ Hoover 87-39 in the semifinals a year ago.

On Tuesday, the Lions seemed to have control most of the way. Prattville led 32-21 at the half and built a 14-point lead, 39-25, early in the third quarter.

However, the Wildcats closed to within 39-33 after three quarters and Sara Amos’ basket to open the fourth made it a four-point game, 39-35.

“I had by big (Eliza Downey) on the bench in foul trouble,” DuBois said. “Not only does she bring good defense, she just brings so much energy. Once she got back in the game, I knew it was going to shift, and it did.”

Prattville immediately went on a 12-0 run and never looked back. The Lions finished on a 26-7 run overall to win their fourth game in four tries against Enterprise this year.

“Our main focus was – and I think we strayed away last time we played them – was we have to focus so much on our brand of basketball,” DuBois said. “We focused so much on their big (Amos) last time because we are small and we got away from what we do, which is intense defense. So, our main objective was to push the ball. We were going to push and see if they could run the floor with us.”

Prattville forced 26 Enterprise turnovers, leading to 23 points. The Lions never trailed. Tournament MVP Jayla West-Young led the way with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. U’Llyriah Lewis scored 13 and Jaina Misigah had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Amos had 12 points and 8 rebounds for the Wildcats. Makayla Bass chipped in 10 points. Enterprise shot just 27.5 percent from the field (14-of-51) compared to 39 percent (25-of-64) for the Lions.