DEMOREST, Ga. — Averett University women's basketball's quest for its first appearance in the USA South Conference Tournament championship fell short as Berea College held off the Cougars in the final minutes for a 77-73 win in Saturday's semifinals hosted by Piedmont College.

Averett (18-9) and Berea (22-5) were tied, 69-69, with two minutes to play. However, the Mountaineers got a key 3-pointer from Bethanie Williams moments later. Williams scored seven of Berea's final eight points.

The Cougars were held without a field goal over the final 2:54, but they had opportunities at the foul line. After Williams' go-ahead 3-pointer, Averet went 4-for-6 on free throws to stay within striking distance. Yet, Berea's Isis Hill hit one of two free throws with 12.1 seconds to play to give the Mountaineers a four-point lead. Averett had several looks in the final seconds but ran out of time.

Berea, the West Division No. 2 seed and West Division regular season co-champion, advanced to play West No. 1 seed Piedmont College in Sunday's championship. Piedmont beat Huntingdon College 68-53 in the other semifinal.

The loss ended a third consecutive 18-win season for Averett, which won the East Division regular season crown for the first time in program history to earn the No. 1 seed out of the East.

Berea opened the game with an 11-2 lead before Averett climbed back into it. Junior Brooke Carthon hit a shot to end the first quarter, getting the Cougars within 26-18. That proved to be the start of a 14-0 run that spanned the quarters for Averett as the Cougars surged ahead. Lunsford's runner in the paint gave Averett its first lead, 27-26, and Lunsford drilled a 3-pointer moments later to extend the lead. It was part of a bigger 26-5 run that helped the Cougars take a 42-33 advantage into halftime.

That momentum disappeared in the third quarter as Berea used a 13-0 spurt to start the second half and take the lead. Averett, however, remained close and tied the game at 55-55 before the Mountaineers scored a layup in the final seconds of the third to take a two-point lead entering the final frame.

Averett inched ahead 58-57 on a three-point play by senior Amani Ajayi and again later 62-61 on a four-point play from senior Alixis Roccia. The Cougars led by as many as three, 66-63, with 4:50 remaining before Berea battled back.

Roccia finished her final career game with 14 points. Lunsford added 14 points off the bench for the Cougars, who got 13 points and six assists from Carthon. Junior Ravyn Johnson added a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards, while Ajayi also collected 10 rebounds in her final game.

Williams finished with 21 points to lead Berea, which shot 51.8 percent from the floor.

The game was the first-ever meeting between Averett and Berea.