The Underwood Comets became yet another member of Shiloh Christians Under 40 Club on Tuesday.

The third-ranked Skyhawks defeated the Comets 67-32 in a Region 5 girls basketball tournament semifinal contest at the Mandan High School gymnasium that night, marking the 15th time this season that Shiloh has held an opponent under 40 points. It also was the 20th time the Skyhawks allowed fewer than 50 points.

Shiloh senior guard Gabby Wilkinson said the Skyhawks brought a defense first mindset into Tuesdays contest, just like they have in every other game theyve played this season.

I dont think weve ever gone into a game with a goal of holding teams under a certain number of points. Our goal is to play tough defense every possession and every quarter, and if we do that and hold them under 30 or 40, thats really good, Wilkinson said. We try to do our best to shut teams down and weve done a good job of that this year.

The Skyhawks, who are allowing just under 38 points per game, will meet District 9 rival Grant County in Thursdays championship game. It will be the third time in as many years that Shiloh and Grant County will meet for a berth in the Class B state tournament. The Coyotes won last years title game, 60-57 in overtime.

While the defense was doing its thing, the Shiloh offense sputtered at times in the first half, but the Skyhawks still led 17-4 at the end of the first quarter and 30-18 at the intermission. The Comets managed to get within eight, 26-18, late in the second quarter, but the Shiloh lead was double digits after back-to-back baskets by Jaye Two Bears and Regan Watson.

Shiloh then blew the doors off in the third quarter, outscoring the Comets 23-5. Two Bears scored 13 points in the frame, six on a pair of 3-pointers. The sophomore guard finished with 25 points, six rebounds and five of Shilohs 16 steals.

We made some adjustments at halftime and the girls came out in the third quarter and executed better, said Shiloh coach Jim Petrik, whose team improved to 22-1 and extended its winning streak to 21 games. Our defense continued to play well and that was a big reason why our offense got going. Its been that way all year.

Haley Stevahn and Watson added nine and eight points, respectively, and Wilkinson and Krista Ulmer contributed seven apiece for the Skyhawks.

Brooke Weisenberger netted 10 points for the Comets, who committed 33 turnovers. Underwood will play Wilton-Wing in the third-place game Thursday night.

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Shiloh stifles Underwood