SMITHFIELD - When Smithfield-Selma elected to change things up on the defensive end at halftime of last week's Johnston County Christmas Invitational girls championship game, the move stymied Leesville Road's offense for a quarter.

It also helped vault the Spartans to the title via a 44-31 decision and may have been just the boost the young squad needed entering the 2009 portion of their season.

"When you win a tournament, it means you have it in you to put more strings of solid games together," said SSS coach Lori Rose. "It also gives you the motivation to do better.

"And the good thing for us is that in this tournament, we got contributions from everyone who played. It was the best all-around and most consistent we've been all season."

The Spartans surged ahead in the third quarter with a Megan Cater 3-pointer boosting their lead to eight points - at 31-23 - with 2:34 to play in the frame. Tournament MVP Tori Kearney used a nice pump fake to get an open look just before the quarter horn, running the lead to nine points.

"It came down to our defensive effort in the second half," Rose said. "We went to a zone because they were beating us with the man[-to-man] game.

"We put a lot of emphasis in denying [No.] 14 [all-tournament team selection Kelly Levek] the ball. We did a good job of making them try to do other things."

The Pride's third quarter offensive tally included six turnovers, six missed field goal attempts and one free throw.

The Spartans were able to make their lead stick down the stretch with solid free throw shooting.

Smithfield-Selma (6-8) shot over 55 percent from the free throw line for the first time this season in the championship victory. The Spartans were 11-of-12 (92 percent) against the Pride.

Vivian Adams (10 points on the night) hit four free throws in the final frame. Kearney totaled 12 points, while Katie Byrd, Erica Strahin and Cater had six points each. Danielle Lee, who was named to the all-tournament team, finished with four points and five assists.

"We've been much more patient with our offense over the past two games," Rose said. "When we do that, we're able to get better shots."

The Spartans trailed just twice in the championship tilt - at 12-11 and 21-20.

Kearney also had 20 points in the Spartans' first-round (59-27) victory over Louisburg. Erica Strahin added 12 for SSS against the Warriors. Leesville Road beat West Johnston 33-30 in the opening round.

"It gives us more confidence, especially coming off of games where we struggled against East Wake and Southeast before the break," Rose said of the tournament win's impact. "Our next few games, I think are games we're capable of being very competitive in."

The Spartans will spend this week battling Johnston County rivals. SSS visited West Johnston on Tuesday night and then meets Clayton on Friday.