LORDSTOWN — The tradition of the West Branch Warriors girls basketball program speaks for itself. A resume that includes a state championship, two other regional crowns, seven district titles and nine league titles, all before entering their Division IV district final on Saturday afternoon.

The Warriors added to their school trophy case with a physical, come-from-behind 50-40 victory over the Streetsboro Rockets at Lordstown Red Devils gymnasium to capture their eighth district crown. It propels the Warriors into a regional semifinal Wednesday night at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.

“We look in the gym every day at district titles for girls basketball. EBC titles for girls’ basketball. There are a lot of years up there. It’s the legacy that they left behind, and you just want to leave your print on the legacy. That really helped us tonight, especially being down in the first half and coming back. Remembering our roots,” senior guard Alli Kanagy said.

“It definitely helps when we know that we have been on the other side of it, where we lost. So, this was our year to come out and win,” freshman forward Madi Hoopes said. “We have many seniors who know what it feels like to have a good season, and we just want to keep it going.”

“It was a physical game by both teams,” said West Branch coach Walt DeShields. “I thought in the second half, I thought our girls got more physical, especially on defense, which turned into some easy shots at the other end for us.”

The Warriors improve to 22-3 on the season and advances to the regional semifinals against the Gilmour Academy Lancers (13-12) at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The Lancers have won seven of their last nine games and are led by 6-foot-2 freshman Annie Sullivan, who has already received a scholarship offer from the University of Akron. Sullivan leads the Lancers with 17.3 points and 9.2 rebounds a game.

“Gilmour has a great girls basketball program,” said DeShields. “They play a tough schedule. So, they are going to be ready. I kind of expected them to give it a run, and there they are.”

After the Rockets held a seven-point 24-17 advantage at halftime, the Warriors picked up the intensity in the second half. They started the half with a 9-0 run and go on to outscore the Rockets 33-16 to seal the 10-point victory.

“Just settle in,” Kanagy described the halftime message. “It was a super physical game with lots of fouls. It may have taken us a long time, pretty much the whole first half, but being able to settle in, play our game, and going over the game plan and definitely making a couple shots helped.”

“Weather the storm, get more physical, and don’t let them get in your heads as far as the physicality of the game,” DeShields added as a locker room message. “Get stops on defense. The only way we are going to get back in the game is get a couple of consecutive stops.”

In the afternoon, Hoopes experienced a game of two halves as she battled to contain the Rockets’ power forward Carlee Bedford in the first half, as she scored 8 of her 12 points in the half. But Hoopes turned the tables in the second half, dominating the boards and scoring 16 of her game-high 19 points down the stretch, causing Bedford to foul out late in the contest.

“We have had a bunch of physical games with bigger girls than us. We know if we work together as a team, we will be fine,” Hoopes said. “They were definitely one of the tougher teams that we have played against just because of their size and their skill.”

Following a couple of free throws by the Warriors to start the contest, the Rockets seized the lead and held an 11-8 advantage at the close of the first period. When Audrey Eaton drilled a three-pointer at the 5:53 mark of the second quarter, the Warriors had knotted the game at 11. But then the Rockets started to pull away with a 10-4 run in the final four minutes of the half to enjoy a 7-point, 24-17 lead at the intermission.

The second half saw the Warriors play at a more intensive level, especially on defense, as they stormed out with an impressive 9-0 run with Eaton hitting her second trey in the contest at the 5:42 mark, followed by Hoopes scoring a moment later to provide their first lead since early in the game at 26-24. They held the lead for the remainder of the contest.

“It was critical,” Kanagy described that 9-0 run to start the second half. “Usually, we are more of a second-half team. And then being able to add on is super crucial.”

“I didn’t think it was going to happen that quick,” DeShield said. “We talked about wearing them down. They (Streetsboro) are a really strong, physical team, but we felt like our conditioning with running up and down the floor would eventually tire them out a bit and get us easier shots.”

Following a basket by Hoopes with just 12 seconds remaining in the third stanza, the Warriors had built an 8-point, 36-28 advantage. But the Rockets scored twice in the final 5 second of the period to make it a 5-point game at 36-31 at the close of the period.

With Hoopes aggressively going to the basket, she found herself converting 3-of-4 free throws as the Warriors built a 9-point, 43-34 advantage by the 3:27 mark of the fourth quarter. When she added another charity point at the 2:57 mark, the Warriors stretched their lead to 11 at 45-34.

The Warriors were able to spread the court and force the Rockets into a game of chasing the ball and fouling in the final three minutes of the contest. The Warriors were successful in connecting on 10 of 18 free throws in the final period to secure the victory.

In addition to the 19 points that Hoopes scored, Eaton add 11 points, including those 2 three-pointers. Tallie Muniz had nine points and six rebounds.

The Rockets, who close the season with a 17-8 record, saw Ava Bodovetz score 13 points, with Bedford adding 12 points and eight rebounds.

“Our culture is just hard work,” said DeShields. “We work extremely hard, play for each other, and team first. These girls have decided to do that from the off-season to now. They got rewarded tonight for that.”

ST: 11-13- 7- 9–40

WB: 8- 9-19-14–50

STREETSBORO SCORING: Olivia Johnson-Wilson 3, 1-1, 7, Claire Campbell 1, 0-0, 3, Sara Koyan 0, 0-0, 0, Ava Bodovertz 4, 2-4, 13, Carlee Bedford 3, 5-6, 12, Kendall Epple 1, 0-0, 2, Carman Marcini 1, 1-1, 3. TEAM TOTALS: 13, 9-12: 40.

WEST BRANCH SCORING: Alli Kanagy 1 3-5 5, Madi Hoopes 5 9-15 19, Tallie Muniz 3 3-4 9, Hallie Vie Burton 0 0-0 0, Audrey Eaton 4 1-6 11, Sammi Beatty 1 1-2 4, Sydney Lane 1 0-0 2. TEAM TOTALS: 15, 17-32: 50.

Three-point goals: Streetsboro 5 (Bodovetz 3, Campbell 1, Bedford 1), West Branch 3 (Eaton 2, Beatty 1).