Photo Courtesy Ruth Boll

Northwest’s Paige Simon puts up a shot against North Adams’ Karly Boerger during Saturday’s Division III Southeast Sectional Championship

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Jake Dorow

PDT Contributor

LUCASVILLE— With the NBA All-Star showcase going on this weekend, Northwest sophomore Darbie Jenkins made her case Saturday for an appearance in Houston.

The sophomore scored 16 points of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, including four 3-pointers, as the No. 12 Mohawks (7-12) defeated No. 4 North Adams (16-6) 54-53 at Valley High School. Northwest will play No. 1 Fairland, which defeated No. 8 Chesapeake 47-26 Saturday, in a Division III District Semifinal at noon Next Saturday at Waverly’s Downtown Gymnasium.

“We have been telling the kids that you can beat anyone that you play, don’t give up and play hard,” Mohawks coach Mark Spears said.

It will mark Northwest’s first appearance in the districts since 2006.

“It means an awful lot to reach the district semis,” Spears said.

The Lady Devils jumped out quickly right from the opening tip as they went on a 7-0 lead and ended up leading 11-2 midway through the first quarter. However, finding themselves trailing early on, Mohawk sophomore Ashley Riley had a runner in the paint to cut the lead to 14-9. The basket was part of a 5-2 run that cut the deficit to 16-11 to end the first quarter.

“I don’t think they’re ready to quit yet and they weren’t ready to lose today,” Spears said.

The momentum continued in the second for Northwest. Jenkins made back-to-back jumpers to pull the Mohawks within 18-17. On the ensuing possession, Rachel Lewis made a layup to give Northwest its first lead of the game at 19-18 with 5:24 left in the first half.

The next trip down the floor, K’Lee McGlurg nailed a straight-on 3-pointer to hand the Mohawks a 22-18 advantage. It was part of a 7-0 run before North Adams answered with a basket.

Northwest outscored the Lady Devils 17-8 in the second quarter to hand them a 28-24 lead at halftime.

Trailing by five entering the fourth quarter, Jenkins caught fire. She nailed her first three in the corner as the teams exchanged triples. However, Jenkins hit two more 3-pointers within a 1:43 time span to cut the deficit to 45-43 with four minutes remaining in the game.

“Darbie is one of our better shooters,” Spears said. “Hopefully it will continue on.”

The Lady Devils’ Emily Fite, who finished with a team-high 16 points, made a reverse layup to give her squad a 47-43 lead. After a few made free throws, the opponents found themselves tied at 49-49 with 1:09 remaining.

Coming out of a timeout, Jenkins found the left corner and made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 50 seconds left to give Northwest a 52-49 lead.

North Adams wasn’t finished as Mikayla Jodrey came down and made a layup with 39 seconds remaining to cut the lead to one.

Senior guard Mandi Kidder however made iced the game for the Mohawks with a pair of free throws.

Northwest 11 17 5 21 — 54

North Adams 16 8 14 15 — 53

Northwest — Vastine 0-2-2, D. Jenkins 6-6-22, R. Lewis 1-0-2, Riley 2-1-5, McGlurg 4-2-11, Kidder 0-3-3, Osburn 1-3-5, Simon 1-0-2, K. Lewis 1-0-2, Totals 16-17-54.

North Adams — Gast 1-0-2, Copas 1-4-6, Fite 7-2-16, Stout 1-2-5, Jodrey 5-3-13, Boerger 1-2-4, Dinsmore 3-0-7, Totals- 19-13-53.

3-Point Goals — Northwest 5 (D. Jenkins 4, McGlurg); North Adams 2 (Stout, Dinsmore).

Records- Northwest 7-12, North Adams 16-6.