Unfortunately her shooting display came too late for the Cougars.

Trailing by 21 entering the fourth quarter, Hopkins went on a personal 10-0 run in less than three minutes, but No. 7 Cassadaga Valley’s deficit proved to be too much as No. 3 Wilson hung on for a 51-45 victory in a Section VI Class C semifinal at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex.

“The girls had a lot of fight in them,” Cassadaga Valley head coach Tammy Rice said. “They won the second half, but against a team that’s competitive and seasoned like Wilson, (the deficit) was just too much.”

The Lakewomen’s victory sends them into Saturday’s noon final against No. 1 Frewsburg, which beat No. 5 Randolph 61-38 in Thursday’s first semifinal.

Cassadaga Valley’s Maddie Debo protects the ball from Wilson’s Kairi Beck during the Section VI Class C semifinals at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex on Thursday. Photo courtesy of Steve Garvey

“We’ve struggled scoring all year, but defensively we haven’t given up 50 points all year. That was a goal of ours and we did it again,” Wilson head coach Brian Baker said. “Just some true grit down the stretch.”

Wilson built a 46-25 lead through three quarters against Cassadaga Valley by turning the Cougars over 27 times and scoring 27 points off of those turnovers at the other end of the floor.

“We closed the gap a couple of times coming out of the locker room. A lot of us being down was just that we didn’t have the composure,” Rice said. “We made critical mistakes, collectively as a team, it wasn’t just one person.”

Cassadaga Valley finally found consistent offense at the start of the fourth quarter as Hopkins hit three 3-pointers in the Cougars’ first five possessions and then added a free throw to make it 46-35 with 5:14 remaining.

“It’s not easy shooting at JCC. I think in the beginning, we were almost passing too much and looking for that perfect shot,” Rice said. “You have to really shoot when you’re open. … We struggled with settling in and shooting.”

Lucy Madan, who scored a team-high 14 points for the Lakewomen, ended that run with a 3-pointer to give her team a 14-point lead with 3:44 left.

Wilson then shifted to a box-and-one defense to take away Hopkins, which proved effective holding her off the score sheet until the fouled out late in the game.

“We played them three years ago here and she was a freshman. We know she’s a dynamite player. She got hot,” Baker said of Hopkins. “We knew she couldn’t stay cold the whole game. … I’m super proud of Andrea (Faery) for the way she defended her.”

Maddie Debo scored 7 straight points for Cassadaga Valley as it cut the deficit to 50-44 with 1:15 remaining. After the Lakewomen missed a 3-point attempt, the Cougars had a chance to make it a four-point game, but two missed free throws before a turnover gave the ball back to Wilson.

“She’s super athletic, very tough. She goes to the foul line. She creates contact,” Baker said of Debo. “We really focused on her and Hopkins this week. We wanted to front Debo in the low post and keep her active in the high post.”

The Lakewomen missed two more free throws, but Cassadaga Valley was only able to cash in a free throw over its final two possessions as Wilson hung on, advancing to Saturday’s final where it will look for the seventh sectional title in program history and first since 2017.

“They’re unbelievable and returning state champs. We have our work cut out for us,” Baker said of the Bears. ” … We’re playing against one of the best players in Western New York, if not the best. (Sierra Beaver) is a great coach, a great team. We’re happy to be there.”

NOTES: Hopkins finished with 17 points while Debo had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Cassadaga Valley, which shot 16 of 51 from the field, including 5 of 15 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 31 times. … Rowan Simpson chipped in 12 points for Wilson, which shot 20 of 58, including 5 of 16 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 22 times.

CASSADAGA VALLEY (45)

Fenton 0 0 0, KMcVey 3 0 6, FMcVey 0 0 0, MHopkins 1 0 2, Meder 0 1 1, Pattyson 2 0 5, Johnson 0 0 0, Debo 5 4 14, BHopkins 5 3 17. Totals 16 8 45.

WILSON (51)

Madan 4 5 14, Elia 2 0 5, Simpson 5 0 12, Smith 0 0 0, KBeck 3 0 6, AbFaery 1 1 3, AnFaery 1 0 2, Thrush 4 0 9, Vanderlinden 0 0 0. Totals 20 6 51.

3-point goals–Pattyson, BHopkins 4, Madan, Elia, Simpson 2, Thrush.

Cassadaga Valley 7 8 10 20 — 45

Wilson 12 20 14 5 — 51