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Fort Hill forward Brooklyne Noel shoots over a pair of Havre de Grace defenders during the second quarter in the 1A state quarterfinals in Havre de Grace on Saturday afternoon. Noel scored a game-high 14 points in the Sentinels’ 41-39 win.

Fort Hill guard Carly Bennett shoots a 3-pointer during the second quarter against Havre de Grace in the 1A state quarterfinal in Havre de Grace on Saturday. Bennett had 11 points and five assists in the Sentinels’ 41-39 win.

Fort Hill forward Brooklyne Noel shoots over a pair of Havre de Grace defenders during the second quarter in the 1A state quarterfinals in Havre de Grace on Saturday afternoon. Noel scored a game-high 14 points in the Sentinels’ 41-39 win.

Fort Hill forward Brooklyne Noel shoots over a pair of Havre de Grace defenders during the second quarter in the 1A state quarterfinals in Havre de Grace on Saturday afternoon. Noel scored a game-high 14 points in the Sentinels’ 41-39 win.

Fort Hill guard Carly Bennett shoots a 3-pointer during the second quarter against Havre de Grace in the 1A state quarterfinal in Havre de Grace on Saturday. Bennett had 11 points and five assists in the Sentinels’ 41-39 win.

Fort Hill forward Brooklyne Noel shoots over a pair of Havre de Grace defenders during the second quarter in the 1A state quarterfinals in Havre de Grace on Saturday afternoon. Noel scored a game-high 14 points in the Sentinels’ 41-39 win.

HAVRE DE GRACE — An injury, a raucous crowd, a tough-as-nails opponent and a lost contact lens, to name a few, stood between Fort Hill and a trip to the Final Four: Energy and persistence conquered all.

The Sentinels’ Carly Bennett suffered a second-minute injury against Havre de Grace, drawing Brooklyne Noel into an unfamiliar role at the top of their 1-2-2 zone. Though Bennett returned, Noel and her length were a perfect match for the position, and Fort Hill built a 31-19 lead midway through the third quarter.

Fort Hill made it interesting late, making just 1 of 9 free throws in the fourth and 2 of 14 in the second half, but the Sentinels gutted out a physical bout at Havre de Grace, 41-39, to advance to the 1A state semifinals on Tuesday.

“We did a lot of preparation watching film yesterday,” Fort Hill head coach Sarah Bennett said, “and I challenged them to mentally prepare for what it’s going to be like to have an extremely aggressive ballgame coming at them.

“We knew there was going to be a lot of swatting, a lot of hands-on, full-speed basketball, and they did exactly what I asked of them.”

The trip to the Final Four is the fourth in school history. The most recent appearance came in 2012 when the Sentinels, coached by Bennett’s high school teammate Amber Waltz, went 20-6 before suffering a narrow 54-51 loss to Western STES at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in the semis.

You have to go back nearly 40 years for the next-closest example, when the Sentinels of 1984, coached by Slug Armstrong, fell in the Class A semis. The 1979 team, headed by JoAnn Eckard, is the lone team to make the title game, falling in the Class B championship clash.

While the 2022 Fort Hill Sentinels (17-6) joined that pantheon of girls basketball squads, they didn’t cross that threshold without some bumps and bruises along the way.

Saturday afternoon at fourth-seeded Havre de Grace (15-7) was about as physical a game as you could imagine, and the tone was set early on.

Carly Bennett was hacked at the rim, and she landed awkwardly on her leg, forcing her to ice the injury on the sidelines for several minutes before returning. Luckily for Fort Hill, she seemed no worse for wear with an 11-point, five-assist performance.

Bennett was later bumped so hard in the lane that a contact lens fell out, forcing her to miss time in the fourth, though the absence ended up being inconsequential.

With bodies falling to the floor with regularity and the ball flying all over the court, neither team could get comfortable early on, as evidenced by the low-scoring 6-4 margin in favor of fifth-seeded Fort Hill after one.

“I think we had some jitters, we had a real tough time that first quarter,” Havre de Grace head coach Lisa Koop said. “I think our team’s greatest strength is our defensive pressure. ... Unfortunately, our buckets weren’t falling.”

The Sentinels made the first move of the afternoon, using a 13-3 second-quarter run to lead 22-14 — they led 22-16 at the half. Fort Hill also made the first move after halftime, utilizing a 9-0 burst to lead 31-19 with 3:51 left in the third.

During both outbursts, Noel was at the center of it, using her athleticism to score 12 points in the middle quarters; she finished with 14 and a team-high eight rebounds.

On defense, Havre de Grace never found an answer for Noel’s disruptive play at the heart of the Sentinels’ zone.

“She did phenomenally,” coach Bennett said. “When we focused on this team, we realized no one really sent them a certain direction. We did that, and Brooklyne was up for the challenge.

“She loves having active hands. Her jumping skills came into play. Her senior year, her heart, that’s what won.”

Havre de Grace, fueled by the strident Warrior faithful in attendance, scored the next six points, capped by a 3 from Kaedence Gipson to get within 31-25. It was 34-28 Fort Hill after three.

Havre de Grace continued the effort in the fourth, scoring the opening five points to trail just 34-33 with 5:10 left. Following a Carly Bennett free throw, Noel spun a crucial bucket off the glass to up the lead to 37-33.

The manic play continued, and Fort Hill couldn’t buy a free throw. With just one make in nine tries from the charity stripe in the fourth, the encumbrance was squarely on the defense’s shoulders.

It may not have been there earlier in the year, but when called upon in a win-or-go-home playoff scenario, Fort Hill’s defense held Havre de Grace without a point for more than three minutes to nearly close out the game.

“They just keep on getting better,” coach Bennett said.

Azareya Whiting, Havre de Grace’s leading scorer with 13 points, ended the drought with a midrange flush to trim the Sentinels’ lead to 41-39 with 11 seconds left.

However, Havre de Grace forgot it needed to foul to extend the game. Karli O’Neal wasn’t sent to the line until there was only one second on the clock — the Warriors never got a final shot off and the Fort Hill celebration was on.

Natiah Turner joined Whiting in double figures with 11 points. Havre de Grace made 16 field goals, three of which came from beyond the arc, and was 4 of 8 on free throws.

In addition to Bennett and Noel, Alayzia Trimble hit a 3 as part of her five points, O’Neal and Olivia Looker scored four, and Kayijah George added three. Looker also pulled down five boards.

As a team, Fort Hill made 14 field goals and 12 of 27 free-throw attempts. Havre de Grace committed 20 fouls to the Sentinels’ nine.

Fort Hill’s reward for another road victory, in another hostile environment, isn’t very kind. The No. 5 Sentinels will take on No. 1 Catoctin (22-2) at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville.

Catoctin defeated Cambridge-South Dorchester, 61-21, in its quarterfinal matchup on Saturday.

“Tomorrow they’re all going to rest, we’ve got lots of icing that needs done,” coach Bennett said. “Monday we’ll prepare for the next team (Catoctin).”

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.

Alex Rychwalski is a Sports Reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.

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