LaFAYETTE — Thursday night showed the progress that the Chambers Academy girls basketball team made this season with a 37-25 victory over rival Springwood School.

“It feels great,” Chambers girls head basketball coach Brandi Fuller said. “We played them hard down at Springwood, but we didn’t play well and Springwood didn’t play well. It was a sloppy game, but we played so much better tonight. I think our defense was the key. They played defense very well.”

Coming down the stretch, the Rebels leaned on underclassman forward Brittany Stephens, who scored crucial buckets late for Chambers in the victory.

“The team feeds off of her,” Fuller said of Stephens. “They listen to her. She is a big key to our success, and I think that Tate Reese has also played a great year of basketball. She has played very consistently this year.”

Both Stephens and Reese led the team in scoring on Thursday night, finishing with 12 points each. Mattie Reese and Brandalon Rombokas also got on the board for the Rebels.

Stephens’ game has evolved from the beginning of the season when she often found herself in foul trouble or standing still defensively.

“I feel more controlled,” Stephens said. “I’ve done better, and when I’ve played better, my team has played better. It keeps us all focused.”

Junior Andie Martin led Springwood in scoring with 10 points, while McKayla Barber finished with 8 points. Lucy Spivey, Emily Drake and Emily Jo Matthews also got on the board for the Wildcats in the effort.

Chambers Academy has one final area regular season game remaining on Saturday at Cornerstone. If the Rebels win, then Chambers Academy gets a bye in the first round of the area tournament. If the Rebels lose, the team faces a quick turnaround to begin postseason play next week.