In the midst of its finest season in decades, the No. 1 Warhawks didn’t disappoint Thursday afternoon in a Section VI Class AAA semifinal at Buffalo State Sports Arena.

Bellarose Milligan scored 22 points and Ava Gunnells added 17 as West Seneca — ranked 16th in the latest New York State Sportswriters Association poll — raced to a 15-1 lead in the first four minutes en route to a 78-53 victory over fourth-seeded Jamestown.

The win vaults the Warhawks (19-2) into the championship game, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. next Friday against No. 3 Lancaster. The Legends advanced by virtue of their 59-48 win over No. 2 Niagara Falls in the other semifinal yesterday.

But if yesterday — or the entire season is any barometer — West Seneca will be extremely difficult to beat.

Jamestown’s Aiyann Stam looks to shoot over West Seneca’s Mel Marcezin during Thursday’s Section VI Class AAA girls basketball semifinal at Buffalo State University. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

“They have all the parts to make a really good run,” Red & Green head coach Ken Ricker said.

Hard to argue.

By the time most fans had settled into their seats, the Warhawks showcased their talents on both ends of the floor, a skillset that the Red & Green (11-10) had seen twice during the regular season that resulted in losses by 39 and 55 points. So when West Seneca built a 27-5 lead after the first quarter, it seemed very probable that another setback by a similar margin was in the offing.

“We can’t really run with them, which is what we do with everybody else,” Ricker said. “When we played 1-3-1 previously, they just killed us inside so now we tried to move our big girls inside, and next thing you know they’re making (3-pointers). That’s not who we are, but when you play someone that good you try to recreate yourself. We knew what we were up against.”

Trailing 44-15 at the break, Jamestown showed plenty of resolve in the final two periods, outscoring the WarHawks 38-34.

“I’m just proud the kids kept fighting,” Ricker said.

Junior Makenna Pryce paced Jamestown with 13 points, sophomore Aiyanna Stam added 12 and freshman Payton Gibbs chipped in 11. For seniors Abbee Brandow, Anna Enquist and Jazmyn Tonkin, it was their final game.

“People think that the end of the season is finality, and for our three seniors it is,” Ricker said, “but as somebody who just loves the game and developing kids it’s the start for the next thing.”

That “next thing” will be the 2026-27 season in which starters Stam, Gibbs and freshman Carley Daniels are all returning. And much of the remaining roster saw plenty of playing time, too.

In other words, Ricker’s figurative cupboard is hardly bare.

JAMESTOWN (53)

Brandow 0 0 0, Reid 0 0 0, Pryce 5 1 13, Stam 4 4 12, Tonkin 0 0 0, Daniels 0 0 0, Thomas 0 0 0, Gibbs 2 6 11, Olmstead 2 0 6, Engquist 1 4 6, Atkinson 1 3 5. Totals 15 18 53.

WEST SENECA (78)

Vanegas 2 0 4, Milligan 8 2 22, Cioia 0 0 0, Marcezin 2 0 6, Coia 4 0 10, Dennee 0 0 0, Ceccarelli 3 0 7, Ecker 4 0 8, Beard 2 0 4, Bialeszewski 0 0 0, Gunnells 8 0 17. Totals 33 2 78.

3-point goals–Pryce 2, Gibbs, Olmstead 2, Milligan 4, Marcezin 2, Goia 2, Ceccorelli, Gunnells.

Jamestown 5 10 17 21 — 53

West Seneca 27 17 18 16 — 78