HUME — The Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City Hornets finally found the spark they lacked last time they played Tuscola.

“We were really pumped up because the first time we played them it was a really close game and they almost beat us,” CHBC senior guard Bailey Doty said of the last time the two teams met, a 49-46 come-from-behind CHBC victory on Jan. 28. “We wanted to come out and make a statement. We came out really flat last time. They were up by like 10 points and we had to come back.”

CHBC didn’t leave anything to chance this time around. Doty scored a team-high 20 points and Micah Jones dominated inside and on the glass once again to help the Hornets steamroll to a 65-36 win in Monday night’s Class 1A Shiloh Sectional semifinal game. The Hornets take on Decatur Lutheran in Thursday’s sectional title game at 7:30 p.m.

“They were intense, they were focused,” Tuscola coach Tim Kohlbecker said of the Hornets. “They’ve been preparing for this for three or four years now, to make a run to the finals. If there’s a better team I’d sure like to see it. I wouldn’t like to play them, though.”

The Hornets (26-3) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game and never looked back. They did it with defense, stifling Tuscola (21-6) on dribble penetration and shutting down Tuscola guard Sammi Kohlbecker.

Kohlbecker scored 29 points against the Hornets in the last meeting, but CHBC’s Emily Wheeler stuck on Kohlbecker like Velcro on Monday, holding her to only four first-half points and 15 total.

“They killed us (with dribble penetration) up on their court last time, and (Kohlbecker), she had a heyday last time,” CHBC head coach Carolyn Wendte said. “We didn’t slide our feet, we didn’t talk, we just didn’t do the little things. But after that game we did keep preaching defense more and more, because the offense is going to come off the defense.”

CHBC certainly never idled offensively on Monday. Jones scored six points in the first five minutes, and Doty and Faith Wendte each nailed 3-pointers to put the Hornets up 14-0.

When Kohlbecker drove and made a layup with 3:02 left in the first, it gave the Warriors a little relief: Up until then they were 0-for-7 from the field.

Tuscola scored six more points in the quarter and even got a bit of a freebie when Jones was whistled for her second foul with just 30 seconds to go in the quarter.

“It just seemed like at the very beginning they missed a couple shots then they didn’t miss anything,” coach Kohlbecker said of those tumultuous first five minutes. “And we played them even in the second quarter. But with Micah, it seems every time she’s been out of the game against us the past couple years, instead of the lead dwindling, somehow, it increases. And that’s the sign of a good team.”

Jones sat the entire second quarter with two fouls, but CHBC is nothing if not deep. Like the creature from Greek mythology, when you cut off one head, another grows and takes its place. CHBC led 26-8 after one quarter but didn’t let that lead dwindle even without its star player.

Paruleski and Marissa Klee both entered in Jones’ stead and the Hornets’ margin stayed the same at halftime, 38-20.

“Ava’s finally starting to play like that kid who’s been playing for me since summer ball,” Wendte said. “Marissa, too. The kids know their roles on this team, that’s what makes it so sweet. The kids see one kid struggling, they step up.”

Klee didn’t score but ended up with five rebounds while Paruleski ended with 10 points in the game, including two 3s.

In the third quarter CHBC shut down Tuscola’s other main threat, Emily Weaver. She scored two points to start the quarter and nothing else. Doty said the Hornets were worried about a Tuscola comeback and took measures to ensure that wouldn’t happen.

“We just had to keep coming out strong and keep our momentum going,” she said. “(In the locker room) we said don’t let up and let them get back in the game. That team’s good, so they could have easily come back.”

That didn’t happen. The Hornets outscored the Warriors 16-7 in the third frame and cruised to victory from there.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to carry this into the next game,” Doty said. “We’ll have to watch and see who we have to block, what we’ll have to do (against Decatur Lutheran). We’re going to have to work hard for the next couple days and hope practice doesn’t get snowed out.”

CHBC 65, Tuscola 36

CHBC    26    12    16    11    —    65

Tuscola    8    12    7    9    —    36

CHBC — Wheeler 2-3 0-0 4; Wendte 3-7 1-2 8; Jones 6-10 1-2 13; Myers 3-7 1-6 8 Riley 1-1 0-0 2; Paruleski 4-6 0-1 10; Doty 8-14 1-1 19; Klee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-50 4-10 65.

Tuscola — Kohlbecker 6-19 0-0 15; Weaver 6-14 3-4 15; L. Ponder 2-4 0-0 4; Borries 0-0 2-4 2; S. Ponder 0-2 0-0 0; Miller 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-415-8 37.

3-point goals — CHBC 7 (Doty 3, Paruleski 2, Myers 1, Wendte 1); Tuscola 3 (Kohlbecker 3). Rebounds — CHBC 34 (Jones 15); Tuscola 23 (Weaver 10). Turnovers — CHBC 14; Tuscola 11. Team Fouls — CHBC 11; Tuscola 1. Fouled Out — None.