WILLIAMSBURG — Williamsburg faced its biggest challenge of the early high school girls basketball season Tuesday night, when defending PIAA Class 2A state champion Berlin Brothersvalley was the Lady Pirates’ guest for an Inter-County Conference showdown at the Williamsburg High School gymnasium.

Buoyed by a strong first quarter that Williamsburg carried, 17-4 and a solid third period in which Williamsburg fashioned a 17-8 edge, the Lady Pirates appeared to have the game well in hand, building a 46-25 lead after three quarters.

But appearances can be deceiving, especially against a powerful Berlin team that entered Tuesday’s game with a 5-0 record and which had been riding a 31-game winning streak over the past two seasons.

Berlin staged a furious fourth-quarter rally, shaving its 21-point deficit to just four points, 48-44, with less than two minutes left in the game, before Williamsburg held on for a 55-47 victory.

“I told our girls going into the fourth quarter that they couldn’t (afford to) take a possession off, because Berlin is a very good team,” Williamsburg coach Angela Detwiler said. “I felt that our players came out somewhat stagnant in the fourth quarter, as happens sometimes when a team has a big lead, and (Berlin) came back on us. They are able to do that because of their personnel, but we were able to hold on.”

Berlin (5-1 overall and 1-1 in the Inter-County Conference) rode its first-team all-state junior guard Coral Prosser during the fourth-quarter comeback. Prosser, who already has secured a large number of NCAA Division I scholarship offers, lit up the scoreboard in the fourth quarter for 17 of her game-high 30 points, as Berlin staged a 17-2 run to put the game up for grabs.

“Coral Prosser is something else,” Detwiler marveled about the Berlin star, who also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

Even so, Williamsburg (5-1, 3-0) had enough gas in its tank to close out the deal.

Detwiler’s daughter, scrappy freshman guard Faith Detwiler, was fouled with 1:27 left and converted both free throws to give Williamsburg, which scored seven of the last 10 points in the game, a 50-44 lead.

Senior guard LeAnna Royer – who led Williamsburg with 19 points — was fouled and made one of two free throws with 51 seconds to give Williamsburg a 51-44 lead.

After sophomore Bryn Prosser made one of two free throws to pull Berlin to within 51-45, junior guard Grace Colbert was fouled and made both free throws to give Williamsburg a comfortable 53-45 edge with 30 seconds left.

“I told them that they needed to take care of the basketball,” Angela Detwiler said when asked what she told her players after Berlin had made it a 48-44 game with under two minutes left. “The only shot that I wanted them to take at that point was a wide-open layup.”

Along with Royer’s 19 points, junior center Levada Gorsuch scored 11 points and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for Williamsburg, while Faith Detwiler – the coach’s daughter – chipped in 12 points.

With Royer scoring 10 first-quarter points, Williamsburg got off to a dynamite start. Royer added two field goals and a free throw in the third quarter, while Faith Detwiler scored two field goals and Colbert and freshman Bryn Lower both connected on a pair of 3-point shots, as Williamsburg dominated that period and appeared to have clear sailing entering the fourth quarter.

“It was a game of runs,” Coach Detwiler said. “Berlin plays a fast game in which they get the ball down the floor quickly. We came out ready to go tonight, had a very specific game plan, and executed it very well. We hadn’t seen the type of defensive pressure that Berlin presents, and I think that we got a little tired at times tonight.”

Berlin coach Rachel Prosser, who has three starters returning from her state championship team, said her team’s comeback bid was gratifying.

“I’m proud of our team effort,” Coach Prosser said. “We needed to turn the corner after falling behind, but we weren’t able to turn the corner completely. I think that we just got down by too much.

“Williamsburg is a great program, and this is a tough environment to play in, although that’s no excuse,” Coach Prosser added. “A game like this is a good challenge for us.”

Williamsburg could say the same thing about the game.

“It was a nice win for us, beating Berlin,” Coach Detwiler said. “At this point, I feel that we’re focused on getting better each day, so that our team that people are seeing in December isn’t the same team that people will be seeing in February.”

Game notes: Berlin held a slight 33-31 edge in rebounds, with Bryn Prosser collecting nine for Berlin and freshman Brynn Lower grabbing eight for Williamsburg … Both teams are back in action Thursday night, when Williamsburg travels to West Branch and Berlin hosts Meyersdale.

BERLIN BROTHERSVALLEY (47): C. Prosser 11 7-11 30, B. Prosser 2 3-4 7, Sechler 1 0-0 2, Walker 1 0-0 2, Miller 3 0-0 6, Will 0 0-0 0. Totals – 18 10-15 47.

WILLIAMSBURG (55): L. Royer 7 3-6 19, R. Prough 1 0-0 3, Gorsuch 4 3-6 11, Detwiler 4 3-4 12, Lower 2 0-2 5, Colbert 1 2-2 5, Houck 0-0 0. Totals -19 11-20 55.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Berlin Brothersvalley 4 13 8 22–47

Williamsburg 17 12 17 9–55

3-point goals: Berlin Brothersvalley 1 (C. Prosser); Williamsburg 6 (L. Royer 2, Prough, Colbert, Detwiler, Lower).

Records: Berlin Brothersvalley (5-1 overall, 1-1 in the Inter-County Conference); Williamsburg (5-1, 3-0).

Officials: Dave Heim, Randy Burkett, Damon Ricketts.

JV: No game.