Freshman guard Bianca Jackson scored 18 points to lead Brew Tech to a 54-39 victory in the Class 4A, Area 4 title game Monday night at Brew Tech.

“It’s really hard beating a team you’ve already played, so we had to come out and play hard as a team,” Jackson said.

The only Ram to reach double figures, Jackson led Brew Tech to a third win against St. James this season.

“She’s a special kid,” Rams coach Cynthia Thompson said. “I’m very proud of her because we asked her to do a few things tonight, and she did every one of them. For example, we asked her to make sure she takes control of what’s happening on the court and she did that.”

Brew Tech (23-6) has defeated the Trojans by an average of 17 points this season.

“Brew Tech is just super-athletic,” St. James coach Katie Barton said. “They’ve got really good basketball players. They’re well-coached, and the pressure got to us. We turned the ball over a little bit too much.”

The Rams will host Ashford in their subregional, while the Trojans travel to Charles Henderson.

St. James tried to shorten Monday’s game by running a motion offense. The strategy kept the Trojans in the game — they trailed by just six points at the half after senior Regan Riddle hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Riddle and freshman guard Hannah Dailey each scored 10 to lead to Trojans.

“I feel like we were more prepared,” Riddle said. “We knew what they were going to throw at us a little bit. We felt calmer about it.”

At halftime, Thompson talked to her team about making a more conscious effort to go inside.

“Our big girls didn’t touch the ball as much as we wanted them to,” Thompson said.

The strategy paid dividends as the Rams open the second half with a quick 6-2 spurt to take a 30-20 lead. All three field goals were inside baskets. Sophomore Michaia Fluellen scored four points and senior Juliette Harp scored two.

Brew Tech led by as many as 20 in the second half. The Rams went 16-of-28 from the free throw line while the Trojans attempted only nine free throws and made seven.

Brew Tech shot 25 free throws in the second half.