The Mount Hebron girls basketball team has proved to be tough to rattle, no matter what the situation or the stakes.

In last night's Class 2A South region semifinal against Howard County rival River Hill, the No. 4 Vikings overcame early foul trouble, some inconsistent shooting and the visiting Hawks' strong inside game.

With guard Brittany Bowen (team-high 14 points) providing timely offense, fellow guard Qiana Coleman leading a unified defensive front and forward Megan Schaaf providing key minutes off the bench, the Vikings (25-0) advanced to tomorrow's region final with a 47-43 win over River Hill.

Leading 44-41 with 1:11 to play, Coleman outworked everybody to grab an offensive rebound and Bowen provided the clincher later in the possession -- a three-pointer from the left baseline that secured the win.

Hitting 14 of 16 free throws and their typical high-intensity on defense also played big in the Vikings' win.

"Our coaches told us going into the game it wasn't really going to be all about getting the ball in the basket. It was going to be more about ... putting the effort into the defensive end," Bowen said. "At the end of the game, they talked about needing to put 100 percent into the other end of the floor and then the points will come."

The Vikings will host Gwynn Park at 7 p.m. tomorrow. River Hill, which had only two seniors on the roster, finished with an 18-6 mark.

Senior captain and leading scorer Deanna Dydynski spent a good part of the game on the bench after getting two first-quarter fouls, but other Vikings players stepped up at different times to pick up the scoring slack and fend off the Hawks.

Junior forward Alicia Seelaus led River Hill with 14 points, and junior center Ryan Dannelly added 10.

glenn.graham@baltsun.com