NORTHAMPTON — The third quarter of Wednesday night’s Western Mass. Class A semifinal between No. 2 Northampton and No. 3 Minnechaug marked the most points the Blue Devils had surrendered in a frame in the sectional tournament. Northampton led by 10 at halftime, and a Bri Heafey triple boosted its advantage to 25-12. But the Blue Devils watched their once 13-point lead slip to six as a stretch of defensive lapses allowed the Falcons to go on a 10-3 run.

This is exactly what Northampton head coach Perry Messer prepared his team for.

When the two teams met back on Jan. 3, the Blue Devils held a double-digit halftime lead before making a handful of mistakes that let Minnechaug back in the game. The contest ultimately went to overtime before Northampton squeaked out a five-point victory. Messer sat his group down Tuesday to watch film of that game, sensing something similar may happen on Wednesday.

So when Minnechaug worked its way to within six in the third, nobody donning white jerseys flinched. Liv Joensen grabbed offensive rebounds on consecutive possessions, leading to her scoring four points, and the advantage was back to 10. The Falcons never got closer than eight the rest of the way as the Blue Devils stifled the visitors’ offense in a 44-32 win – setting up a rematch of last season’s Class A final with Springfield Central.

“We made our team watch the third and fourth quarters [from] the last time we played them,” Messer said. “We let them make a similar run on us, then we missed free throws in the last minute of the game and they sent it to overtime… So I told our team at halftime, we’re pretty much in the same situation. You knew at some point [Minnechaug was going to make a run]. I called a timeout and talked about mental toughness. I thought we did a great job the last five minutes of the game.”

The 12 points Minnechaug put up out of halftime stood as the first time the Blue Devils allowed double-digit points in the eight quarters they’ve played in the Western Mass. tournament. And when the Falcons scored four more in the fourth, Messer called timeout with 5 minutes, 35 seconds to play. Northampton only gave up four points – two coming in the final seconds when the game was no longer in doubt – over the remaining time to punch its ticket to Championship Saturday.

It’s no secret what Messer hangs his hat on year in and year out. His teams are always going to dig in on the defensive end, especially come playoff time. Minnechaug only scored six points apiece in the first two frames, resulting in a 22-12 score at the break.

“We were mentally tough enough to make sure we were executing on the offensive end, getting the shots that we want, but also getting back there [on defense] and limiting them to one shot and getting the help we need,” Messer said.

After dealing with foul trouble for much of the second half, Northampton sophomore Emme Calkins checked back in when Messer called his timeout in the fourth quarter. Right away she scored four points to put the Blue Devils ahead 42-30. Despite playing with four fouls, Calkins stayed aggressive offensively.

Her four fourth-quarter points came at a massive moment in the game, and brought her point total to a game-high 15.

“I was just working on the defensive end, really thinking about it so I wouldn’t pick up a [fifth], trying to be smart,” Calkins said. “And that carried over to the offensive end of the floor.”

Minnechaug’s physicality on both sides of the ball wore the Blue Devils down. Northampton began to turn the ball over at will in the second half, which enabled the Falcons to chip away. That, coupled with poor shot selection given the time left on the clock and score of the game, irked Messer.

But the Blue Devils never wavered, and they pulled out a huge semifinal win on their home floor.

In both the Western Mass. and state tournaments, it doesn’t matter how the job gets done – as long as it gets done. Winning in different ways, whether it be an offensive onslaught, defensive battles or anything in between, is an important trait to possess in the postseason. Northampton is a team who can do just that.

“Defense travels, and we know that on this squad,” Messer said. “This was a tournament-type game. Tip your cap to Minnechuag. They’ve played well all year long. They are scrappy, physical and shoot the ball well… [We’re] starting to get it. We’ll be ready for it.”

Joensen joined Calkins in double figures with 10, Heafey tossed in eight, Anna Oravec returned from illness to score six points and Makayla Fydenkevez (three) and Imanni Power-Greene (two) scored timely baskets for the Blue Devils as well.

A location and time for Northampton and Central’s date in the Class A championship game on Saturday have not yet been scheduled.