For the second straight game, Archbishop Spalding defense held St. Vincent Pallotti to 34 points.
But, unlike the late regular-season meeting, when Pallotti prevailed, 34-29, at home, the host Cavaliers won 61-34 in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference semifinals.
Spalding moves on to the championship game at UMBC against top-seeded McDonogh at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18.
Pallotti ended its season, but coach Josh Pratt was encouraged by his team's progress and optimistic about the future.
"We handled ourselves all year with a lot of class and we had a great year," said Pratt, whose squad finished 17-8. "We will we back. We have eight girls returning and we had six sophomores on varsity."
Spalding's defense was again stellar as the second-seeded Cavaliers (19-8) forced third-seeded Pallotti (17-8) into 32 turnovers.
"On defense, we knew we were there," said Pallotti coach Bookie Rosemond, whose squad also beat the Panthers 73-38 in December.
They stuck to the Panthers like duct tape with a straight man-to-man defense and dominated the boards by outrebounding them, 48-25.
Spalding's offense struggled in the first quarter, but they still led 7-4 at the break.
In the second quarter, junior Aleah Epps hit two three-pointers and scored 10 of her game-high 18 points as the Cavaliers took a 23-19 lead into halftime.
"Aleah Epps came up huge tonight with some big buckets," Redmond said. "She played a great game."
Epps sensed the offensive sluggishness in the first quarter and took matters into her own shooting hands.
"I knew if I pushed it and kept shooting, it would open it up for my teammates," Epps said.
Foul trouble to Pallotti's interior players, Beverly Ogunride (11 rebounds, 4 blocked) and Tiffany Padgett (team-high 17 points, 9 rebounds) limited their aggressiveness.
Ogunde had three at the break and Padgett had four, but the Panthers got a lift from Natalie Harrison who scored five points in the second quarter.
"Getting their big girls in foul trouble was a big help for us because they were the dominant ones the last time we played them," Spalding junior forward Camille Calhoun said.
Calhoun finished with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
"We made an effort to pound the ball down low offensively and we got them in foul trouble and we packed the rim," Rosemond said.
Spalding's defense forced 10 Pallotti turnovers in the third quarter and they finished at the other end with fast breaks and penetration, while building a 37-25 lead after three quarters that they expanded in the fourth.
"We get really turned up by our defense," Calhoun said. "We feed off each other's ability."
Despite the loss, Pallotti coach Josh Pratt was pleased with the way his team progressed this season.
"The girls have worked extremely hard and there is nothing to hang our heads about," Pratt said. "We lost to a really good team. They are a top team in the area and its seems like they are peaking at the right time."
Scoring summary
Spalding 61, Pallotti 34
Spalding — Aleah Epps 18, Camille Calhoun 11, Jade Scaife 11, Myka Johnson 8, Kaila Clark 7, Torri Chestnut 6.
Pallotti — Tiffany Padgett 17, Natalie Harrison 9, Brittney Davis 5, Chanel Sparks 3.