Twelve years have passed since the Westhill girls basketball team last won a Section III Class B championship, during which time a string of great players have passed through the Warrior program, getting close to the prize, but denied again and again.

Now, without a senior in its starting five but with a growing confidence that it can tackle any challenge in front of them, the Warriors are back in the sectional final, rising from its no. 8 seed to get within a single victory of the crown.

“Who’d have thought we’d get back to a sectional final, said head coach Sue Ludwig. “But in this game, anything is possible.”

In Friday night’s Class B semifinal at SRC Arena, Westhill turned back no. 4 seed Skaneateles, relying on its youthful core of junior Mary Kate Washburn, freshmen Delaney Maritn and Morgan Elmer and eighth-grader Mackenzie Martin to conquer the Lakers for a third time this winter.

Given that both of those regular-season games, on Dec. 30 (a 63-58 victory) and Jan. 8 (a 48-35 victory) involved large comebacks by the Warriors following hot Skaneateles starts, it only figured that the first quarter of this playoff showdown followed the exact same pattern.

Helped by a pair of baskets from senior Elizabeth Lane, plus plenty of early nerves from Westhill, the Lakers took a quick 6-0 lead. But after Ludwig called a time-out, the Warriors settled down, and Delaney Martin racked up 10 points during a 15-2 run that closed the first quarter.

But though Westhill’s lead grew as big as 10 in the second period, it couldn’t gain full control. Lane and Olivia Dobrovosky, who each had eight first-half points, helped Skaneateles battle back, Dobrovosky’s 3-pointer cutting the Warrior lead to 27-24 at the break.

Sensing the danger, Westhill made another move early in the third quarter, finding success in its transition game and putting together a 12-0 run that stretched out its lead to 41-28, forcing the Lakers to use a time-out.

Still up 44-32 going into the fourth quarter, the Warriors needed that cushion, since Skaneateles reeled off an 11-2 run of its own, cutting the gap to 46-41 with nearly five minutes to play.

Just when it was needed, though, Westhill again showed its youthful poise. A basket by Washburn and a 3-pointer from Mackenzie Martin restored the margin to 51-41, and the Lakers never got closer than six points again, Washburn and Elmer making the free throws in the final minute to put it away.

Delaney Martin finished with 18 points, while Washburn picked up 14 points and Mackenzie Martin had 13 points. Lane, a 1,000-point scorer, was tremendous in her final high-school game, scoring a game-high 25 points.

A familiar face awaits Westhill in next Saturday’s sectional final at SRC Arena – South Jefferson, the no. 2 seed. Despite seeing long-time head coach Pat Bassett take a year’s sabbatical (Steve Zaluski replaced him this winter), the Spartans got to the title game by going 19-2 and needing double overtime to get past Hannibal 49-43 in its sectional semifinal.

During these 12 years that the Warriors have gone without a sectional title, it was South Jefferson often getting in the way as it won seven sectional crowns and a pair of state championships. So it only figures that Westhill has to solve the Spartans’ riddle to finally get back to the top.