Campbell's Tori Allen (33) grabs a rebound behind teammate Karleigh Schultz and away from the reach of Prospect Mountain's Sophia Bean during the Cougars' 40-35 Division III quarterfinal win Sunday in LItchfield. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

LITCHFIELD – They’ve been playing a level above most of the season thanks to the need for a nearby schedule, and it turns out that just maybe the Campbell High School girls basketball team is a level above, period.

They’re back playing Division III competition now that the tournament is underway, and Sunday they already reached the semifinals with a hard-fought 40-35 win over a scrappy Prospect Mountain team.

“Our team has just gotten so much better,” said Cougars senior Karleigh Schultz, who scored a game-high 15 points, said. “You can write this down: This team is going to do great things and I’m really proud of our girls.”

“We didn’t play a regular season game against a D-III team,” Cougars coach Sean Hogan said. “This was only our second game against a Division III opponent … We were 9-2 against mostly D-II. We feel good.”

They felt great at times yesterday, up 18-8 in the second quarter and seemingly in control, up 24-16 at the half. But the Timberwolves came roaring back with a 9-2 run to start the third quarter, and had two possessions in which they could have taken the lead but failed.

Campbell (10-2) took advantage, holding the Timberwolves scoreless for nearly eight minutes, leading 38-27 with 3:10 left after a Riley Gamache layup.

“We made our money on the defensive end of the ball,” Hogan said.

But two 3-pointers by Hannah Capsalis (tied with Ella Misiaszek with team-high eight points) made things interesting, 38-33 with 2:11 left, and eventually 38-35, before Gamache sealed the deal with two free throws with 21 seconds left. The senior point guard was solid with 11 points and calmed things down in crunch time.

“We didn’t take enough outside shots to begin with,” Prospect Mountain coach Rick Burley said. “We told them in a few time outs we had to shoot more. It’s a young team, still learning and growing.

“They’re (Campbell) physical and tall, I thought it was a good matchup for both teams.”

But some of that physical and tall left the game as both senior center Tori Allen and Schultz eventually fouled out, the latter with just over a minute to play. But Maddie Davis and Evelyn Page combined for 10 points to help pick up the slack.

“That’s the most successful we’ve been with the amount of foul trouble with those two off the floor,” Hogan said. “We had some kids (fill in). We’ve got a few kids who give you just about everything you’re looking for.”

And now they’re looking forward to seeing Conant, whom they nearly upset in last year’s quarterfinals, in the semis on Thursday at Manchester’s Trinity High School at 7 p.m.

“We know what we’re up against going into this Thursday vs. Conant,” Hogan said. “They’re kind of the mark of the league, in a sense, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

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