The Bradwell Institute Lady Tigers’ postseason ride came to an end Friday in Atlanta.

The Langston Hughes Lady Panthers, ranked No. 2 in the state, rode hot 3-point shooting early to build a comfortable lead and held off the Lady Tigers 66-46 in the Class AAAAA girls state semifinals.

Bradwell ended its season at 26-4. Along the way, the Lady Tigers claimed their first region championship in seven years and made the state semifinals for the first time in 22 years.

“I’m very, very proud of them and what they accomplished,” coach Faye Baker said of her Lady Tigers. “I couldn’t ask for a better year. The kids played their hearts out.”

Langston Hughes put four Division I commits on the floor, including University of Georgia signee Jocelyn Faison, having moved down to Class 5A from 6A the year before.

The Lady Panthers opened up a 22-point lead, 54-32, in the fourth quarter and led by as much as 23 at one point.

Parris Parham’s 3-pointer from the corner tied the game 7-7. But that was the last field goal for the Lady Tiger over a stretch of 5:52, and Langston Hughes went on a 14-1 run, capped by Karrell Greene’s 3.

Langston Hughes connected on four 3-point shots in the first half, and Savannah Robinson-Holmes’ 3 gave them a 25-10 cushion midway through the second quarter.

Ja’Nya Bush had back-to-back baskets to draw the Lady Tigers within 27-16, but Langston Hughes answered every Bradwell charge with one of its own.

Bradwell played zone much of the game against Langston Hughes, and Baker saw on film how well the Lady Panthers could shoot.

“They didn’t miss. They shot the lights out,” Baker said. “We asked the kids to play hard and they did.”

Cornelia Ellington helped push the Lady Panthers’ margin to 17 points before Ty’Tyana Anderson and Parham got the Lady Tigers within 41-28, even as Bradwell couldn’t convert a 4-on-2 and also had a possession where three shots from in close failed to fall.

Again, Langston Hughes responded, and a 6-0 run widened the gap to 49-30 late in the third.

Parham’s back-to-back 3s, including one from 25 feet, brought Bradwell to within 56-42 with 5:30 remaining. Langston Hughes’ defense, however, held the Lady Tigers without a field goal for the next five minutes, until Maya Hallmon’s 14-footer just before the final buzzer.

Parham had a team-high 19 points in her final game as a Lady Tiger. Fellow senior Anderson had nine points. Anderson also recorded five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Bush had six points, MiKayla Oliveira had four points, Maya Hallmon added three, Janiyah Blevins and Jordyn Rogers had two points each and Kaydence Kern scored one.

Greene, who knocked down four 3-pointers, led all scorers with 23 points. Robinson-Holmes and Faison each had 10 points. Ellington netted nine points.

With the win, Langston Hughes (29-2) will meet River Ridge on March 7 in Macon for the state championship. The Lady Panthers have won 11 straight games and River Ridge, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A and ranked No. 1 among all classifications, is 30-1.

Baker and her staff kept their postgame speech to their players upbeat.

“We talked how proud we were of them, being regular-season region winners, winning the region tournament and then getting that far,” she said. “We told them, ‘We haven’t been to a Final Four in your lifetime.’ Of course, you want to win that game. But we did a good job of knocking on the door. You see the hard work and dedication it takes.”

While the Lady Tigers will lose Parham, Anderson, Rogers and Talasia Weathersby, they also expect to return several girls who now have logged extensive playing time in playoff games. Baker conducted exit interviews with her returning players this week, stressing the intensity and physicality of the game against Hughes and how they need to be ready for that in the future.

“But it was a fun year, an historic year,” Baker said. “I was happy with the way the community stepped in and supported us. Those three playoff games at home were fun. I was glad we were able to go as far as we did.”