Photo courtesy of Steve Garvey Frewsburg’s Jadyn Trocki dribbles while being closely guarded by Randolph’s Skylar Herington during Wednesday’s Section VI Class C girls basketball semifinal Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex.

JAMESTOWN — Frewsburg-Randolph Round 3 lived up to the hype.

The third-seeded Bears built an 11-point fourth-quarter lead and then held off a furious rally from the second-seeded Cardinals to win their Section VI Class C girls basketball semifinal 50-47 at Jamestown Community College on Wednesday night.

“We said it at the beginning, this was going to be a game where 10 points didn’t matter either way,” Frewsburg head coach Sierra Beaver said. ” … Even if you were up 10, you could be down 10 in just a couple of seconds.”

Frewsburg led 47-38 with two minutes remaining before Randolph junior Gianna Bowles hit a 3-pointer to make it a six-point game in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Physical Education Complex.

The Bears missed 3-point attempts on their next two possessions, but the Cardinals were unable to capitalize. Frewsburg sophomore Jadyn Trocki began to cramp up on a loose-ball rebound with 1:10 remaining and was forced to leave the game.

The Bears committed their only turnover of the fourth quarter on the ensuing possession, giving Randolph life.

“Jadyn is one of the best players in Western New York and as far as point guards go, probably the best,” Beaver said. “She takes care of the basketball and does everything we need her to do offensively.”

Cardinals sophomore Skylar Herington hit a step-back 3-pointer the next time down the floor to make it a 47-44 game. After senior Teghan Trocki’s free throw for the Bears, Bowles hit her second 3-pointer of the fourth quarter to make it a one-point game with 29.3 seconds remaining.

“They got up by 11,” Randolph head coach David Pihlblad said, “and I was really proud of our girls to battle back to even give us an opportunity there to have a chance to win.”

Frewsburg then missed a pair of free-throw attempts, giving the ball back to Randolph with a chance to win the game. The Cardinals dribbled down the clock before Herington drove into the lane and missed a shot through contact.

“We got the look we wanted. Skylar got downhill with a bunch of girls around her,” Pihlblad said. “The shot didn’t go in, but I have no regrets about what we were trying to get there.”

Bears senior Ava Jimerson grabbed the rebound — her 16th of the game — and passed to Teghan Trocki as Beaver called a timeout. After the inbounds, Jimerson was fouled and calmly sank both free throws for a three-point lead with 3.3 seconds remaining.

“Ava is the hardest worker I have ever coached in my entire life. … She puts 100 percent into every single thing that she does,” Beaver said. “To be able to play as hard as she did for that long doesn’t just happen tonight, that’s months and months of working on being in shape. … That’s just her work ethic.”

Without a timeout, Randolph was forced to go the length of the floor and a desperation half-court heave at the buzzer glanced off the backboard as the final buzzer sounded.

“Momentum is a really big thing in sports. I feel like they had it for a long time in that game and all of a sudden it switched really quickly,” Pihlblad said. “If we played another quarter, I think we’d win the game. We just ran out of time.”

The victory sends Frewsburg into the title game at 2 p.m. Saturday against No. 5 Maple Grove back at JCC. The Red Dragons topped No. 8 Franklinville 45-34 in Wednesday’s first semifinal.

“These girls have been playing against each other since they were in first grade. The rivalry is going on 10-plus years,” Pihlblad said of his team and the Bears. ” … I wouldn’t be shocked if Frewsburg goes and wins a state title now.”

The Bears controlled the first quarter of the second semifinal and jumped out to a 19-9 lead, thanks in large part to 8 points from Jimerson and a banked 3-pointer from junior Abery Harvey.

“We told her coming in that she wasn’t going to be able to be passive,” Beaver said of Harvey. “We needed five people on the floor that were a threat.”

The Cardinals made it a 28-20 game by halftime, but couldn’t make it closer due to 8-of-30 shooting that included 1 of 12 from 3-point range in the opening 16 minutes.

“JCC is a bigger gym with a lot of people. You don’t typically see a team shooting the ball great at JCC,” Pihlblad said. “We are a great shooting team and I liked the looks we got. Our girls are confident, it just wasn’t our night.”

Frewsburg’s biggest lead came with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter on a drive from Jadyn Trocki and a Harvey bucket with 20 seconds remaining made it an eight-point game entering the fourth quarter.

Senior Quinn Pence scored Randolph’s first points of the fourth quarter with 4:38 remaining to make it 43-34 and start the rally that came up short in the end.

“We had to take some chances. We’ve played some really, really good teams this year to prepare us for those moments,” Pihlblad said. ” … Our girls didn’t quit.”

The Bears, who lost in the state semifinals a year ago, will now look for their third sectional crown in four years Saturday against Maple Grove.

“We’ll be ready,” Beaver said. ” … It’ll be a balance of getting shots up and keeping our rhythm, but also making sure we’re ready to go with the same intensity we came with tonight.”

NOTES: Ava Jimerson had 12 points to go along with her 16 rebounds; Harvey had 12 points and three rebounds; Jadyn Trocki had 11 points, eight assists, three rebounds and three steals; and senior Taytum Jimerson had 10 points for Frewsburg, which shot 19 of 43 from the field, including 6 of 17 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 16 times. … Herington had 24 points and four rebounds; senior Sadie Steward had 9 points, six rebounds and three steals; Bowles had 7 points and eight rebounds; and Pence had five steals, four assists and three rebounds for Randolph, which shot 18 of 57 from the field, including 5 of 24 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 11 times.

FREWSBURG (50)

JTrocki 5 0 11, TTrocki 1 2 4, JJimerson 0 0 0, TJimerson 3 1 10, Cappa 0 1 1, Harvey 5 0 12, AJimerson 5 2 12. Totals 19 6 50.

RANDOLPH (47)

Hind 0 0 0, Bowles 2 1 7, Pence 2 0 4, Herington 9 5 24, Bushey 0 0 0, Steward 4 0 9, Morrison 1 0 3. Totals 18 6 47.

3-point goals–JTrocki, TJimerson 3, Harvey 2, Bowles 2, Herington, Steward, Morrison.

Frewsburg 19 9 12 10 — 50

Randolph 9 11 12 15 — 47