BRISTOL — The East Providence High School girls’ basketball team made history Thursday night, March 2, in the Division II playoffs as the Townies avenged a bitter loss to Westerly on the final night of the regular season and more importantly advanced to the program’s first-ever championship game in the process.

Ten days ago, the second-seeded Bulldogs defeated East Providence, 52-48, to claim first place in the Division II-South regular season standings and a higher playoff position.

Thursday, in what was a typically tense postseason contest, the third-seeded Townies did Westerly just a bit better, beating the Bulldogs, 42-40, in overtime in the D-II tournament semifinals at Roger Williams University’s Recreation Center.

East Providence saw a huge first-half lead evaporate before finally sealing the victory at the free throw line late in the extra session.

East Providence improved 17-3 on the season, reaching the D-II final Saturday afternoon, March 4, at Rhode Island College’s Walsh Gymnasium. There, the Townies will face unbeaten and top-seeded Johnston, which defeated Rogers, 39-35, in Thursday’s other semi at RWU. Tip-off is set for 3:15 p.m.

“I’m so proud of the kids for keeping their composure in a very challenging environment,” EPHS head coach Mike Solitro said of Thursday’s semi. “Giving up the lead, and having two seniors (Julia Andrade and Amber Drainville) foul out meant people had to step up, and I feel we did just that. I’m very proud of this group and hope we can put 32 more minutes together on Saturday.”

The Townies came out flying to start their semifinal contest, opening the game on a 14-3 run to build an early cushion. East Providence’s lead would eventually reach 18 before Westerly finally found its footing. The Bulldogs sliced 10 points off their deficit by halftime to trail 25-17 at intermission. Courtney Dorr led E.P. with 11 points in the opening 16 minutes, including three 3-pointers.

The Bulldogs continued to eat into East Providence’s advantage to start the second half, creeping to within four (29-25) as the midpoint of the period approached. The flow of the game having slowed noticeably as the pressure ratcheted up, Westerly made it 31-29 with just over five minutes to play then finally was able to grab its first lead of the night, 35-33, with a little more than two minutes left.

The frenetic final moments of the game saw the Townies regain the lead in the waning seconds before Westerly tied it after being fouled. Megan Albamonti would send the game into overtime after she made one free throw for the Bulldogs to knot the score at 37 with 2.3 seconds left in regulation.

In the extra period, the Townies pulled ahead slightly to start as Lily Conti and Shaniah Hazard hit one free throw each. Then Dorr’s clutch mid-range jumper put the Townies up 41-38 with 1:22 showing on the clock. The Bulldogs answered with a bucket to make it 41-40 E.P. with half a minute remaining. Another free throw from Conti put the locals up a pair with just six seconds to go, proving to be the final margin of victory.

Dorr paced E.P. with 15 points. Conti added eight as did Andrade. Hazard chipped in seven and Emma DaSilva four. Albamonti led the Bulldogs with 15 points, including a 9-for-11 night at the free throw line. Arianna Fort added nine. Abigail Murdock and Alisa Haik had six apiece.

The Townies will have about 40 hours to recuperate before they return to the court to face the vaunted Panthers in the championship game. Host Johnston, which improved to 20-0 in league games with its semifinal win, beat visiting E.P., 59-50, back on January 24 in the only regular season meeting of the teams. Jordan Moretti, who led the Panthers in scoring at just over 20 points per game, lighted up the Townies for 27 in the win.

“We’re looking forward to having the opportunity to play in our first-ever finals,” Solitro added. “Johnston is a very good team and undefeated for a reason. We are going to have to play hard and focused. I’m very excited for the kids to experience this opportunity and look forward to taking it all in.”