Glenelg Country School coach Barbara Brummett said that forward Sonia Fernandez has stepped up her game in recent weeks.
Yesterday, the Dragons junior stepped all over Seton Keough.
Fernandez used her speed and aggressive play to dominate, collecting 16 points and nine steals to lead host Glenelg Country to a 40-33 win over the Gators in the semifinals of the Association of Independent Schools B Division Tournament.
The top-seeded Dragons (12-4) advance to their first championship game in team history tomorrow night at the College of Notre Dame against second-seeded Lutheran.
"That was our goal from the beginning of the season, and we got there," said Brummett. "We're very excited about it."
But it took a little help from Fernandez to get them there.
With her team down, 4-0, midway through the first quarter, the Spanish exchange student took over the game, making two steals and scoring six points in a span of 42 seconds to help the Dragons take a lead they never relinquished.
When she stole a Gators pass and drove in for the easy layup just eight seconds into the second quarter, it completed an 11-0 run with Fernandez scoring all but three of the points.
Then later in the game, when Seton Keough's Jaime Johnson (10 points) hit three three-pointers in a span of 2:59 to bring the Gators (6-11) back to within six, Brummett switched her defensive scheme, allowing Fernandez to match up with the hot-shooting guard.
Johnson touched the ball twice and got off one shot during the final 8:43 of the game.
"She really made the difference today," said Seton Keough coach Debbie Pearson. "I knew [the switch] was coming once they called a timeout. I just tried to get as much out of her as I could before it happened.
"[Fernandez] is just a very good player."
The junior, who was helped on offense by guard Robin Zimmerly (14 points), said that the game was probably her finest of the season.
"This game was really important to us," said Fernandez, who added that the failure of the school's field hockey team to win its championship game last fall has been a driving force for many of the basketball players. "We wanted to make the finals and win."
And that's just what the Dragons will attempt to do this weekend. If past history is any indication, the Dragons may be in for their first-ever title.
In a matchup earlier this year, they defeated Lutheran, 46-33.
With a repeat performance by Fernandez, the Dragons would be hard to stop. Brummett said she's getting used to watching her forward come up big.
"She's been making differences in games for a while now," said the fourth-year coach. "She has good speed and has the ability to anticipate the ball. She definitely helped today."
* Lutheran 38, St. Timothy's 25: Amanda Minor scored 12 and Kristin Wollman added 10 to lead No. 2 seeded and host Lutheran (8-11) over St. Timothy's (5-7) in an AIS B Division Tournament semifinal.
* Park 51, Friends 43: Rebecca Shapiro (18 points) and Alexa Wilder (16 points) sparked a late Park rally to give the top-seeded Bruins victory over visiting and third-seeded Friends in an AIS A Division Red Bracket semifinal.
* Severn 46, Bryn Mawr 41 (OT): Seeded No. 2 in the Blue Bracket, Severn trailed after each of the first three quarters before beating fourth-seeded Bryn Mawr in overtime, in the AIS A Division semifinals. Monique Jennings scored 16 of her 25 points after halftime. She hit a three-pointer with 2:16 left in overtime to give Severn a 42-41 lead, and added two free throws with 12 seconds remaining.