West Branch's Alli Kanagy guards Salem's Karlie Sampson in a district semifinal Tuesday. (Morning Journal/Gary Leininger)

BELOIT — For those who like great defense, the West Branch Fieldhouse was the place to be Tuesday night as arch-rivals West Branch and Salem’s girls basketball teams battled tooth-and-nail for four quarters in a defensive gem in their Division IV district semifinal played before a jam-packed crowd.

When the proverbial smoke cleared, it was the host Warriors who moved on with a 28-19 win, while providing West Branch coach Walt DeShields with his 400th career win.

“I’m just proud to be part of this program,” said DeShields, who is in his 21st season as head coach. “God has blessed me with a lot of gifts. Being a basketball coach of a program that works really hard, and with the support my wife and family give me, and all the players and their families over the years and all the sacrifice and the dedication they put in, it’s more about them. It’s because I’ve been around a long time to be lucky enough to win 400.”

“We knew it was almost going to be like a boxing match,” said Salem coach Matt Mowery of the physical nature of the game in which West Branch never led by no more than three possessions.

“Being down seven and not scoring (in the first quarter) and to come back (to tie it at 7-7) and we were right there with them by a possession or two until three minutes to go in the game,” said Mowery. “We had them on the ropes. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t deliver that knockout punch and get that big basket.”

Need an example of how strong the defensive play was by both teams? Consider this: Only one player on either team ended up in double figures. West Branch’s 6-1 freshman standout Madi Hoopes finished with 10 points to lead the Warriors. She had two clutch free throws and a crucial rebound in the final 42 seconds which helped secure the victory for the Warriors.

“I do like (pressure situations),” said Hoopes, who already has a D1 offer from Youngstown State as a high school freshman. “The games are more exciting because it gives you something to work towards. As a team, you have to work together, score and do what we know how to do.

“We always know it’s going to be a good game (with Salem), so we know we have to execute in every way possible on offense and defense,” said Hoopes. “They know us and we know them, so you have to know their weaknesses and use that against them, and they do the same to us, so you’ve got to find new ways to score and be gritty on defense.”

“Down the stretch she (Hoopes) stepped up,” said DeShields. “We were struggling to score and get that separation and I thought we got a couple good stops there and finally when we put the ball in the basket a couple times, a couple foul shots, we got some separation there. We were really comfortable when it got up to a seven or eight-point lead (late).”

“I’m only a freshman so I haven’t been playing that long, but it feels great to be part of the team that gets that (400th) win for him (coach DeShields),” said Hoopes. “He’s an amazing coach and he knows how to coach us very well.”

Complementing Hoopes in the scoring column for West Branch was senior Hallie Vie Burton with six points and junior guard Audrey Eaton with five markers.

Pacing the Quakers were Abby Knickerbocker and Garyn Rome who finished with six points each, while Karlie Sampson had four points. Knickerbocker also grabbed six rebounds.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our girls and how they played, especially defensively,” said Mowery. “Our intensity was great and it was a great atmosphere. I thought both communities showed up tonight and it’s pretty special, man, with the rivalry we have with West Branch. I mean there’s nothing like it in high school sports in the state of Ohio, in my opinion. There’s not many like it.”

The win was West Branch’s eighth straight over the Quakers and three each over the past two years, including their meetings in tourney play each season.

“Getting in the district final and beating your rival on your home floor, 400 wasn’t even in my mind,” said DeShields. “I focused on beating Salem because I knew they’ve give us a battle tonight, they always do. They always play hard and coach Mowery does a great job over there and they always come to play. We’ve been fortunate enough to beat them six times over the last two years.”

West Branch pitched a first-quarter shutout of the Quakers while taking a 7-0 lead.

But the Quakers roared back in the second quarter, outscoring the Warriors 7-0 to tie the game at 7-7 on a layup by Karlie Sampson at the 5:26 mark of the frame. But West Branch answered with a 6-1 run and took a 13-8 halftime lead, following a free throw by Audrey Eaton with 18.5 seconds showing before the break. Hallie Vie Burton led West Branch in the first half with four points. Abby Knickerbocker led the Quakers in the opening 16 minutes with three points.

Salem trimmed West Branch’s lead to as little as two points (13-11) following two free throws with 5:44 showing on the third-quarter clock. But West Branch pushed its advantage back to five points (21-16) following a fielder by Tallie Muniz to close the frame.

West Branch led by seven points (23-16) following a layup by Hoopes with 4:55 left in the game, but the Quakers trimmed the deficit to four points (23-19) with 3:20 showing. However, West Branch went to a spread offense in the closing minutes, forcing the Quakers to foul and the Warriors sealed the win by making four three throws in the remaining time.

“It’s discouraging because we wanted to come out here and win, and we believed it,” said Mowery. “We believed we had a chance to win this game and I don’t think many people did but at the same time I think we gave West Branch a fight and got their respect tonight.”

DeShields loves the way his defense, which is giving up just under 28 points-per game, is playing.

“It (the defense) has just gotten better all season long,” said DeShields. “We’ve got girls who love to guard and really are tough at that end of the floor.”

“We do (take a lot of pride on defense),” said Hoopes. “West Branch has always been good on defense and that’s how we win.”

The victory vaults the Warriors (21-3) into the Division IV district final Saturday at Lordstown High School at 4 p.m. against No. 9 seed Streetsboro (17-7). Streetsboro edged Cloverleaf 54-48 in the other district semifinal Tuesday night.

“In the past we’ve scrimmaged them (the Rockets) a few times, but never played them on the schedule,” said DeShields. “We saw them in the summertime and they’re a good basketball team that was in the regionals last year. We know when you get to the district final, and this is our third one in a row, our girls are really hungry to try and get this one (a district title). I know we’ll be ready to play on Saturday.”

Salem, which won three of its last four games, bowed out with a 13-11 record and showed great improvement throughout the season.

“We have three juniors and three sophomores coming back,” said Mowery. “And we have a good eighth-grade class coming in.”

Game notes

West Branch won the earlier meetings this season with the Quakers by scores of 41-22 in Beloit and 46-34 in Salem.

S: 0-8-8-3–19

WB: 7-6-8-7–28

SALEM SCORING: Karlie Sampson 2-0-4, Garyn Rohm 2-0-6, Shae Burkhart 0-0-0, Ava Lee 0-1-1, Peyton Colbert 0-0-0, Abby Knickerbocker 2-2-6, Ryann Vross 0-0-0, Maddy Andres 0-2-2, Emilee Lewis 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 6, 5-8: 19

WEST BRANCH SCORING: Alli Kanagy 0-2-2, Madi Hoopes 3-4-10, Sydney Lane 0-0-0, Sammi Beatty 0-3-3, Tallie Muniz 1-0-2, Hallie Vie Burton 2-2-6, Audrey Eaton 1-2-5, Ciera Evans 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 7, 13-21: 28

Three-point goals: Salem 2 (Garyn Rohm 2); West Branch 1 (Audrey Eaton 1).

Total fouls: Salem 18, West Branch 7. Fouled out: none.