Girls from the Maharashtra team came out with a flying performance to defeat Karnataka in the semi-final of the 45th sub-junior national basketball championship in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh on Saturday.
The super performance helped Maharashtra to knock out Karnataka 51-47 and enter the finals after eight years.
In 2010, Maharashtra had defeated Chhattisgarh to lift the sub-junior national title.
Maharashtra will now face Tamil Nadu who defeated Chhattisgarh 72-58 in the second semi-final.
Maharashtra did not start off well as they were trailing 7-11 at the end of first quarter.
In the second quarter, Maharashtra chipped in with few quick baskets to trail with the one point with a scoreline reading 15-16.
From the third quarter onwards, it was Maha girls who dominated the proceedings and took seven points to lead with the scoreline reading 35-28.
The final quarter saw both the teams coming out with an attacking approach and scored the baskets in tandem but in the end, it was Maharashtra who scored a 51-47 victory.
For Maharashtra, Shomira Bidaye, Riccha Ravi, Dhara Phate and Tanvi Salve scored six, nine, eleven, eight and six points respectively.
{{/usCountry}}For Maharashtra, Shomira Bidaye, Riccha Ravi, Dhara Phate and Tanvi Salve scored six, nine, eleven, eight and six points respectively.
{{/usCountry}}The boys team from Maharashtra had a disappointing outing as they bowed out of the tournament with going down 70-74 against Rajasthan in the semifinal.
Results (Semi-finals):
Girls:
Maharashtra 51 (Shomira Bidaye 9, Riccha Ravi 11, Dhara Phate 8, Tanvi Salve 6) bt Karnataka 47 (Adithi 16, Vaishnavi 10) Half-Time 15-16
Boys:
Rajasthan 74 (Ashish Bhargav 22) beat Maharashtra 70 (Sahil Dhanavate 18, Dev Premi 9) Half Time: 22-37