SOUTH HADLEY — Paul Dubuc thought he wrote Cara Dean’s name down on the board as part of the list of starters for the third quarter on Tuesday night. Dean, a sophomore, is a regular in the South Hadley girls basketball team’s starting lineup. Dubuc turned to his bench and asked, “where’s Cara,” after the first possession of the second half. She was sitting down waiting patiently to get subbed back in.

After a couple minutes went by, the Tigers head coach called her name. When Dean checked back in, nobody was asking where she was anymore. She took the game over.

Dean tossed in the next seven South Hadley points, and ended the frame scoring 12 of her 18 on the night – helping the Tigers build a 24-point lead. South Hadley boosted its lead to 26 before Dubuc emptied his bench, as the No. 3 Tigers cruised to a 58-47 win over No. 14 Littleton in an MIAA Division 4 Round of 16 game that was never that close.

South Hadley (20-3) advanced to the Elite Eight for the second straight year, where it will host No. 6 Carver on Friday at 6 p.m.

“I literally thought I had her up on the board, but I guess I didn’t,” Dubuc said. “I was sitting there wondering why she wasn’t out there. They said, ‘Coach, you didn’t put her in.’ So I gave them a minute or two and then put her back in. She came in with a vengeance.”

Dean picked up two fouls in the first half so she had to sit more than she usually would. That wasn’t the reason she didn’t start the third, but it explained why it took her an extra quarter or two to get in her typical rhythm.

Once she settled in, she couldn’t miss.

“I just finally got out of my head and played the basketball that I know I can play,” Dean said.

Littleton opened the night with a 5-2 lead before South Hadley woke up. Kate Phillips knocked down two free throws, then banked in a layup to put the Tigers in front for the first time. They would never trail again.

Phillips’ quick four points ignited a 12-0 South Hadley run, capped off by a Maddie Soderbaum 3-pointer in the final minute of the first. Littleton’s Annabelle Caouette scored just before the horn to stem the tide, but the hosts still had a 14-7 lead after one. Dubuc was more than pleased with his team’s defensive effort in the first period, but they one-upped it in the second.

The Tigers mixed in several different full-court presses, confusing the visitors and causing several turnovers. Littleton only converted one field goal in the second quarter, and it came over four minutes in. South Hadley outscored its opponent 11-3 in the frame to take a dominant 25-10 advantage into intermission.

“If we hold teams to 10 points at half, we’re going to be just fine,” Dubuc said. “The defensive effort was awesome. We could rebound better, but the defense has been good so far. We got three or four different presses. We like to let the other team think they’ve figured it out, and then we show them something else. When we get to our spots, it can be tough to score on us.”

Freshman Olivia Athas swished a pair of shots from the line, as did Phillips, but a 10-2 Littleton run – fueled by two 3s from Aspen Corby – brought the South Hadley lead down to eight, 29-21. Littleton’s coach called timeout. Out of the huddle, it was Dean’s time to shine.

She made a pair of bunnies before stepping outside and splashing a 3. Phillips, who scored a game-high 19 points, scored five straight of her own, then Dean knocked down another 3 before banking home a layup. It was a flurry that suddenly put South Hadley in front by 22 at the end of three.

“Once she hits a shot, if you don’t go guard her, or even if you do go guard her, she’s going to take over the game,” Dubuc said. “She’s very good. And her running-mate Kate Phillips is very good also.”

Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Dubuc took out most his starting five. His bench unit finished the rest of the game. Sofie Quinn banked in a layup off a nice feed from CC Gurek to highlight the final six minutes and change.

Tuesday marked the second straight game that Dubuc has gotten everybody on the Tigers roster in the game.

“It’s awesome, I love seeing it,” Dean said, referring to each South Hadley player getting minutes. “Seeing the growth in the team, and especially for next year when seniors leave, they’re going to be playing a bunch next year. So I’m excited for them and excited to play with them more next year.”

Aside from Phillips’ 19 and Dean’s 18, Athas scored nine points, Soderbaum tossed in six and Ava Asselin, Gurek and Quinn each scored two for the Tigers.