A one-sided first quarter set up Harrisburg for a first-round upset over familiar opponent New Franklin Monday night, 51-41, in the Class 2 District 7 Tournament in Sturgeon. Harrisburg now advances to the semifinals to face top-seeded Salisbury tonight (Wednesday).

Monday’s game marked the third between Harrisburg and New Franklin this season. New Franklin won the first matchup in the Glasgow Tournament in early December. Harrisburg won a close regular-season matchup two weeks later. Monday’s district final was the rubber match.

An apparent trend this season of the fifth seed beating the fourth seed continued Monday night. And it all started with a dominant opening period for Harrisburg. The Bulldogs in red completely owned the first quarter, taking an 11-2 lead after eight minutes. New Franklin’s only points came from the free-throw line with less than two minutes to play.

“Being able to come out and build on an 11-2 lead in the first quarter was huge for us. Because we knew we were going to go blow for blow the rest of the way,” said Harrisburg coach Ryan Richardson. “They’ve got arguably one of the best players in the area, so you knew they were going to find a way to get going. And they did.”

While the first quarter was a setback for New Franklin, the Bulldogs in blue quickly regrouped. They scored their first field goal of the game just 18 seconds into the second period on a bucket by CannRassa Jennings. Four minutes later, the sophomore converted a pair of free throws to cap an 11-3 run, making it a one-score game.

New Franklin coach Parker Gross said that first quarter made a difference in the outcome of the first half and affected his team’s mentality.

“I thought it had a huge impact on the first half. I felt like we missed a lot of easy shots throughout that entire first half,” he said. “We knew going in it was going to be a tough battle. We were pretty similar teams on the year. I felt like we had a pretty solid game plan in place going in. But we didn’t execute some things early and dug that hole. I thought we battled back pretty well and got ourselves back in position to maybe take a lead. We just never got over that hump.”

Up by one point midway through the second quarter, it was Harrisburg’s turn to regroup. The Bulldogs outpointed New Franklin 9-5 to the end of the first half and take a 23-18 edge into the break. New Franklin junior Brynn Belstle cut the lead down to two points with a 3-point shot with two minutes left. But Harrisburg answered with a triple from Mady Mitchell seconds later to make it a five-point game.

“At halftime, I told them that I felt like we weren’t playing poorly, but we were scoring really poorly,” Gross said. “And we were in a two-possession game. I felt coming out that we were going to get the job done, and we just didn’t have quite enough things go our way.”

After trailing by seven points early in the second half, New Franklin made another run to once again come within one point of the lead. But every time New Franklin encroached on their lead, the Harrisburg Bulldogs had an answer. This time, a 3-point shot by Macie Ellis midway through the third period extended her team’s lead back to four points.

The two rivals duked it out throughout the rest of the third quarter and into the fourth. Again, Harrisburg pulled ahead. And again, New Franklin would rattle off five or six points to close in on the lead. With five minutes left to play, a five-point run by New Franklin cut the deficit to just three points.

“I called the time out in the fourth quarter, and I looked at the girls, and I said, ‘We’re built for times like this.’” Richardson said. “We play a tough schedule. We’ve seen every press you could throw at us. We’ve seen any kind of defense and any kind of offense. The girls looked me in the eye and nodded, and they knew. There’s a lot of power when you have a team that believes in their capabilities right now.”

Trailing by four points with three minutes to play, New Franklin was forced to stop the clock by way of fouling. Harrisburg made six of 11 free throws down the stretch to win by 10 points.

Ellis led three Harrisburg players in double figures with 11 points. Poppy Spry added 10 alongside Emma Fischer, one of the team’s two seniors.

“She’s got a motor that doesn’t stop,” Richardson said about his senior powerhouse. “She competes all the time.

Fellow senior Abby Rosson added eight points, followed by Mitchell and Isabelle DeMuth with six each.

New Franklin sophomore Lily Chitwood scored nearly half of her team’s points with a game-high 19. She sank a pair of 3-point shots and finished 9-for-12 from the free-throw line. Emerson Eads, Belstle, and Jennings each added six points. Sophomores Chloe Chitwood and Skylar Shaw scored three points, and one point, respectively.

The loss concludes Gross’s first season as the New Franklin coach with a record of 11-16. He points to several bright spots throughout the year, and with no seniors on the roster, he looks forward to returning the entire team next season.

“I look at it as a huge positive. We only build up from here,” Gross said. “We started from scratch at the beginning of the year in terms of the way that I wanted us to try to do things. And there were a ton of positives on the season. It’s a group that worked hard and a group that I’m really proud of. I’m happy with the way we’ve done things.”

When it comes to district basketball, the entire season can come down to one game. The winner advances, and the loser goes home. Harrisburg, now 13-13 overall, will get another crack at top-seeded Salisbury. The Panthers, now 21-5, routed Harrisburg 56-22 on February 13.

“They’re a one-seed for a reason,” Richardson said. “Every opportunity except one this year, we’ve been able to correct a loss. So, there is a confidence in us that says don’t give us two chances. And that’s how we’re going to approach it. This is playoff basketball. This is what you live for. Anything can happen.

The two teams will tipoff at 6 p.m. tonight in Sturgeon. The winner will advance to the district final on Friday night against either second-seeded Westran or third-seeded Fayette.

“Our team is hungry right now, and I don’t think we’re done yet,” Richardson said.