SAN ANTONIO -- Already breathing rarefied air, the St. Joseph girls basketball team moved closer to the top of the mountain Friday morning, beating Amarillo San Jacinto Christian 48-46 for a berth in the TAPPS Class 3A state championship game.

The Lady Eagles will play for the title against Midland Classical Academy at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Blossom Center in San Antonio.

St. Joseph, which reached the state tournament for the first time in school history, improved to 29-2. San Jacinto finished the season at 24-10.

Midland Classical (28-8) beat Kingwood Northeast Christian 42-29 in the other semifinal. Northeast Christian is the only team to beat St. Joseph this season.

St. Joseph's Jeanee Thompson grabbed the last of her 16 rebounds and scored her last two points with about 6 seconds left as the Lady Eagles survived a furious finish in the semifinal at the Paul Taylor Field House.

San Jacinto Christian had a chance to break a 46-46 tie with a player driving to the basket, but St. Joseph's Kailey Veteto prevented an easy score with a foul, and the San Jacinto player missed both free throws.

Thompson rebounded the second miss and was fouled. She went to the line and made both free throws for the winning margin, then St. Joseph's pressure defense prevented San Jacinto from attempting a game-tying shot.

Zadous Pollard led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 16 points, adding three assists, three steals and three rebounds. Thompson scored 13 points, while Veteto finished with eight points. Maria Morrell added 11 rebounds and six points.

"It's big because we're the only [girls] team left standing from the Brazos Valley out of all the teams that made the playoffs," St. Joseph coach Charlette Castile said. "We will be making history for the school, playing for the state championship. It gives hope to the teams coming up. It shows we are capable of hard play, and we deserve to be there just as much as the teams that are there year-in and year-out."

St. Joseph 48, Amarillo San Jacinto Christian 46

TAPPS 3A Girls State Semifinals

ST. JOSEPH (29-2) -- Maria Morrell 6, Zadous Pollard 16, Jodi Simmons 3, Jeanee Thompson 13, Kailey Veteto 8, Ambria Brand 2.

SAN JACINTO (24-10) -- Carey Cox 3, Alec Sims 4, Dakota Gonzales 7, Sarah Ryan 9, Kayla McKinney 10, Kim Galarza 11, Shayla Clift 2.

St. Joseph 12 14 12 10 -- 48

San Jacinto 9 8 16 13 -- 46

Highlights: Morrell 2 steals, 11 rebounds; Pollard 3 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists; Thompson 2 steals, 16 rebounds; Veteto 2 rebounds; Hannah Watt 1 steal, 3 rebounds.

Next: St. Joseph vs. Midland Classical Academy, TAPPS Class 3A state championship, 9 a.m. Saturday, Blossom Center, San Antonio