MONROEVILLE — There were few surprises here in the girls Division III sectional final Saturday night.

Two teams squared off in a close, physical contest with an emphasis on defense, with Wynford topping Northern 10 Athletic Conference rival Colonel Crawford, 40-35, to advance to district play next week.

Wynford (14-10) head coach Amy Taylor-Sheldon saw her squad fall behind 11-7 before taking its first lead at the 4:32 mark of the second quarter on a pair of Grace Stucky free throws.

The Lady Royals went up 20-15 at halftime, built a 33-26 lead and held on for the win.

Stucky had 9 points to support Katie Wagner’s double-double. The senior post scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Freshman guard Maradath Engler contributed 6 points and a great defensive effort.

“All the kids did a good job fulfilling their roles. Maradath did a good job handling the ball, defending the perimeter, and taking it to the basket,” Taylor-Sheldon said.

Wynford plays Margaretta at Shelby High School Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The No. 1 seeded Lady Bears took care of Ashland Crestview in the nightcap, 62-23.

“I was super happy with Katie Wagner finishing at the free throw line (8-of-8 overall; 6-of-6 in the fourth quarter). Katie had a big rebound late. I’m just super happy for these kids. It’s their first championship as it’s been a while since the program’s had one,” Taylor-Sheldon said.

“I’ve learned to not take things for granted. We want to enjoy the now and make the most of it.”

Colonel Crawford (16-7) was led by Mira Holt with 19 points. Gabby Roston added 7 and Mallory Plesac 4 and 11 rebounds.

Lady Eagles head coach Zac Bauer knew his club was resilient.

“If there’s one thing we can say about our team all year is when their backs are against the wall a couple times, they never blink. Credit to Wynford, an experienced team, they came out and made free throws late.

“You got to give them credit there too for making plays. That’s a championship team. We did all we could to take away from them,” Bauer said.

Taylor-Sheldon credited her team’s 13-4 advantage in the second period to a couple of factors.

“We rebounded well. Two buckets in the second quarter (by Holt) and we had to contest, because they do eat up the clock and are patient in their shot selection. We made some good buckets inside. They hurt us on the boards and outplayed us a little bit there in that area. That’s a sign of their intensity and passion.”

Bauer said his team got good looks but couldn’t get the ball through the rim.

“They just didn’t fall. The thing about our kids all year is we get looks and don’t finish. That’s going to be our focus in the off-season. What are we going to do when teams really guard us.

“We’ve kind of been fortunate to be a better defensive team than a lot of our opponents. But Wynford matched that tonight,” he said.

Crawford won the rebounding battle, 27-19 and had 14 on the offensive glass to Wynford’s 6.

“We were able to do enough things often enough to hold them off,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “Katie and Grace both played good defense.”

She also praised the efforts of Engler on the defensive end.

“She guarded (Buckeye Central’s Kate) Siesel and guarded (Allison) Weithman on the perimeter. Alexis Stevely took a huge charge for us as a help defender on the drive. We did everything possible to stop them.”

Weithman’s only basket was a big one as she hit a transition lay-up that cut the Wynford lead to 28-26 with 4:35 remaining.

But a 5-0 Wynford run took the game out of reach. Wagner hit two free throws and Engler got a basket and free throw to make 33-26.

“We were a lot more patient than we typically are, so I was pretty happy about that,” Taylor-Sheldon said.

Bauer said missed opportunities were the difference.

“We didn’t make baskets when we needed to. We’d get to the glass but didn’t make shots. We’ve gotta find ways to get baskets when things get tight.

“We were lucky we had Mira Holt tonight. I’m very glad we got her back for two more years,” he said of the 5-9 sophomore guard.

Plesac is the lone loss via graduation for Colonel Crawford.

“We’re very fortunate to have a lot of our kids back. My heart breaks for Mallory. I feel like not to get her a championship her senior year as loyal as she’s been to our program, I feel like I failed her a little bit and that’s going to hurt me for some time.”

Eight Lady Eagles who took the floor potentially will return next season.

“Weithman has improved her all-around game. Ayla McKibben gave us a big lay-up there late,” Bauer said. “We got kids back. Are they ready to use that adversity we faced to improve and grow like we should?”

Box score

at Monroeville       

Wynford                           7        13         4      16 — 40

Colonel Crawford      11          4         5      15 — 35

Wynford (13-10): Shots 11-26; 3-pt. shots 1-4 (Alexis Stevely); Free throws 17-23; Rebounds 19; Turnovers 7. Scoring: Zoe Whitmeyer 1 0 2, Maradath Engler 3 1 7, Reese McGuire 1 2 4, Grace Stucky 2 5 9, Alexis Stevely 1 1 4, Katie Wagner 3 8 14.

Colonel Crawford (16-6): Shots 13-36; 3-pt. shots 2-16 (Gabby Roston, Mira Holt); Free throws 7-12; Rebounds 27; Turnovers 11. Scoring: Gabby Roston 3 0 7, Mallory Plesac 1 0 2, Mira Holt 7 6 21, Allison Weithman 1 0 2, Lexi Rush 0 1 1, Ayla McKibben 1 0 2.