Photo for the Mirror by Roger Kerekes Everett senior Madison Hicks is consoled by teammates, family and friends after the loss.

GREENSBURG — A vocal celebration was well under way down the hall at Hempfield Area High School on Monday night, when Everett girls basketball coach Keith Moyer slowly stepped out of a quiet Warriors locker room while studying a score book.

Moyer was surveying the second-half damage that West Middlesex inflicted on his team in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals, turning a close game into a 51-33 rout.

“When you don’t put the ball in the basket, it’s the kind of outcome that you get,” Moyer said. “Usually, you lose when you don’t score, and we didn’t score much in the second half.”

No, the Warriors didn’t.

Following a 24-24 standoff in the first half between the two district championship teams, West Middlesex clamped down on defense and Makennah White scored 12 of her game-high 20 points as the Big Reds pulled away, outscoring Everett 27-9, to advance to the championship game.

District 5 champ Everett (23-4) mustered just three second-half field goals — all in the third quarter — and only one free throw from Madison Hicks in the fourth.

District 10 champion West Middlesex (26-3) will play District 6 champion Bellwood-Antis for the Class 2A crown on Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey in a rematch of the Blue Devils’ second-round victory over the Big Reds in 2018.

“I told the girls I was pretty proud of them,” Moyer said. “They don’t hear that now, but (Tuesday) morning, we’ll wake up and realize we were playing in the final four. We were district champions this year, undefeated in our league (Inter-County Conference South), and we lost to probably the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the state.”

Everett quickly fell behind in the third quarter as West Middlesex started on an 8-0 run, keyed by a pair of baskets underneath by the 6-foot White.

The Big Reds pushed the lead to double digits (42-32) on White’s basket in the opening seconds of the fourth, and Everett couldn’t recover.

Karsyn Rupert added 13 points for West Middlesex., which will be playing in its first PIAA title game. The Big Reds held Warriors top scorer Kaitlyn Maxwell without a point after halftime after the junior guard had put up 16 points in the first half.

“West Middlesex had a good game plan,” Moyer said. “They did what everyone else tried to do all year and was unsuccessful, to shut down No. 14 (Maxwell). Kaitlyn struggled in the second half tonight.”

It didn’t help that Everett was playing with a hobbled Hicks, a 5-8 senior forward and the team’s tallest starter.

Hicks injured her right leg on Friday in the Warriors’ 59-36 victory over Allegheny-Clarion Valley in the quarterfinals and sat out the rest of the game.

West Middlesex coach Mike Williams employed a box-and-one defense in the second half, concentrating on Maxwell and frustrating Everett, which committed 14 of its 18 turnovers after intermission.

“We thought she kind of gave it to us in the first half,” Williams said. “She’s as good as anyone we’ve played against, and we’ve played against some pretty good teams this year. She really lit it up and gave us fits.”

Williams was happy with the Big Reds’ rebounding and defense in the second half, in part crediting a one-sided, halftime talk with his players for the turnaround.

“I didn’t make any friends at halftime,” Williams said with a smile. “And there were a couple of mini-meetings on the bench, too.”

West Middlesex outrebounded Everett, 24-22, with White grabbing nine.

“What really hurt us was we weren’t able to get a lot of the stuff we get when teams do that,” Moyer said, referring to the junk defense Maxwell faced.

Hicks’ injury seemed to compound the Warriors’ problems.

“Maddy just wasn’t Maddy, and we had a hard time scoring in the paint,” Moyer said. “Usually, teams that have played us box-and-one all season, we’ve been able to pound it in. But we weren’t able to do that tonight. It really affected us because, typically, when you’re scoring from inside, it’s a lot easier getting No. 14 going.”

Everett returns two starters and its top three reserves next season, giving Moyer hope for another successful year.

“We don’t necessarily have great skills at every position,” he said, “but we really played our positions well and it all came together. This team really gets along and loves each other. That helps. Our chemistry is second-to-none.

“We’ll take some time off and we’ll see the kids at the end of spring, and hopefully, we’ll have a good summer and be right back in the thick of things next year.”

WEST MIDDLESEX (51): Tomko 3 0-0 7, White 10 0-2 20, Anthony 1 2-2 4, Rupert 4 5-6 13, Mild 1 3-8 5, Beatty 1 0-0 2, Blaze 0 0-0 0. Totals — 20 10-18 51.

EVERETT (33): Jay 1 0-0 2, Colledge 2 0-0 4, Ewing 0 0-0 0, M. Hicks 2 2-3 6, Maxwell 7 0-0 16, Bulger 1 0-0 3, Iseminger 0 2-2 2, A. Hicks 0 0-0 0. Totals — 13 4-5 33.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

West Middlesex 13 11 14 13–51

Everett 12 12 8 1 –33

3-point goals: West Middlesex 1 (Tomko); Everett 3 (Maxwell 2, Bulger).

Records: West Middlesex (26-3); Everett (23-4).

Officials: Keith Genicola, M.J. Evagash, Kaitlyn Tortorice.