BERLIN CENTER — After a strong second half to pull away, the Western Reserve Blue Devils punched their ticket to the program’s eighth district title game in 12 years, dispatching Chalker 74-44.

“It seemed like tonight, our shooters got their touches, the inside girls got their touches, I just wasn’t happy defensively how we played tonight,” Western Reserve coach Steve Miller said. “I didn’t think we were focused, we missed a lot of assignments, did things carelessly on in-bound plays and things like that, but that’s a compliment to Chalker.

“They prepared, they came in here, they had certain things they wanted to do and I think in the first half, they had to be extremely happy where they were. We played them earlier and we kind of put it on them early at their place, so they’ve done a great job improving since we played them just before Christmas. I give a lot of compliments to their staff and the girls for continuing to work because I thought in the first half, they kind of outplayed us.”

The Blue Devils held a 13-point lead at the break after a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Kylee Ramsey put Western Reserve up 33-20.

That set the tone for the second half, where the Blue Devils were able to pull away.

Western Reserve put up 28 points in the final frame, 15 of those points coming from beyond the arc.

The Blue Devils’ shooters got their touches, and it showed on the scoreboard.

Quincy Miller, the program’s all-time leading 3-point shooter, led the team with a 23-point outing. Ramsey followed close behind with 21 and Isabella Mauro tacked on 17.

“It seems like every year, we have a girl that just shoots light out from three and that all starts in the offseason,” Miller said. “We’ve got two other girls (in addition to Quincy Miller) that are up there getting up there in threes right now too. That’s a trend, and that’s what off-season work does. … That’s something that the girls pride themselves on is shooting and working during the offseason.”

Leading on the scoresheet for the Wildcats (9-12) was junior Abby Grimm, who finished with 18.

It’s been a rocky, but promising season for the young Chalker squad. With injuries to multiple key players to start the season, the Wildcats found their groove late. The six freshmen, along with Grimm and Tatum Hudak make up a solid core for next season.

“We’re just going to continue on,” Chalker coach Rich Hudak said. “We have a lot of up-and-comers. We’re young, we’re going to keep building and learning the game and playing the game the way it should be played. Teaching them how to play, and not just a bunch of plays. That’s what I try to do, and they laugh at me sometimes for that, but they’re doing really well and making some real good headwind.”

The season continues on for Western Reserve as it advances to another district title game. The Blue Devils take on Cornerstone Christian on Saturday at Mineral Ridge High School. Start time is set for 7 p.m. with a trip to regionals on the line.