Gilmer County’s Laura Brannon (4) battles Ritchie County’s Elsa Law for a loose ball during Thursday’s state semifinal game in Charleston. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

CHARLESTON — Gilmer County is one win away from defending its state championship.

The Titans (23-2) defeated Little Kanawha Conference foe Ritchie County 52-43 in the Class A state semifinals Thursday at Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Gilmer will take on another LKC opponent, St. Marys, in Saturday’s state title game.

“Not very many programs get this opportunity,” said GCHS head coach Amy Chapman. “It’s once-in-a-lifetime. It feels surreal. We’re anxious. Can’t wait to enjoy it for a little bit but then get back into the game film and get to practice tomorrow. What an exciting time for these young ladies to be able to experience another championship run.”

Ava Dobbins led Gilmer with 17 points, five blocks and four assists. Kenley Hartshorn added a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench while Laura Brannon chipped in nine points and a game-high five steals.

After breezing by Webster County 67-19 in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, Gilmer faced a much taller task against the Rebels Thursday.

Gilmer County’s Callie Smith, left, looks to pass as Gilmer County’s Kenley Hartshorn defends during Thursday’s state semifinal game in Charleston. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

The game was tied 7-all after one. Gilmer took its first lead, 11-10, on Brannon’s basket at the 4:59 mark in the second, and the Titans took a 21-18 advantage into halftime.

Ritchie’s Elsa Law led all scorers with 19 points. Her 3-pointer early in the third knotted the score at 23-all and prompted a timeout by Gilmer County.

The Titans responded with an 11-0 run to take control of the game.

“With Kenley, and the size with Ava and Blair (Dobbins), all three together, I think that affected (Ritchie) offensively,” Chapman said. “They really had to figure out a way to score against three bigs, and I think that caused some problems for them. We were able to get some runouts with some turnovers and deflections and some long rebounds and get up the floor a little bit. I think we did a good job with that rotation with that group in.”

Late in the fourth, Ritchie cut the deficit to six, 47-41, when Law knocked down a 3-pointer and assisted Abbigayl Cox on a layup. However, the Rebels were unable to draw closer before time expired.

Gilmer County’s Ava Dobbins, left, handles the ball as Ritchie County’s Cassy Hardbarger defends during Thursday’s state semifinal game in Charleston. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“I think there’s a lot of teams that didn’t expect to see us getting this far, based on some of the regional seedings and stuff I saw, but I knew what we had,” said Ritchie head coach Dave McCullough. “These girls weren’t going to give up in any game. They were going to come out here and battle and show their capabilities from the whole time we were going to be here.”

The Rebels, who got 13 points from Emily Bush, rallied from a double-digit deficit to knock off Tucker County on Tuesday to get to the semifinals. They finished the year 18-8.

“It makes me want to push a lot harder,” said Law, who tallied 15 of her 19 points in the second half and tallied a game-high five assists. “I’m really glad we made it this far, but we can make it farther, and that’s definitely fuel for the fire for next year.”

Gilmer County finished 48.8% (20 for 41) from the floor while holding Ritchie to 34.8% (15-43).

“I thought we executed very good defensively, especially the first half,” Chapman said. “Elsa came alive in that fourth quarter, just like she did against Tucker, and she had some tough shots on us. That’s kind of what we wanted to do, make her shoot tough shots. She didn’t get too many easy ones, but she’s just such a good player she can knock those down. Huge credit to Ritchie. They played hard. They executed well. I thought in the second half, we started getting into a rhythm, getting it inside, and working from the ball inside and getting some easier looks around the rim.”

Brannon, who teamed with Paige Sterns and Erin Stoddard to guard Law throughout the night, added, “We watch a lot of film on Elsa. She’s a great player. You just have to read the passing lanes and just get in there and be scrappy. I think we did a great job with that.”

The Titans were dealt a tough blow in the opening seconds of the second quarter when Lena Frymier limped off the floor with an injury. Frymier, who had a game-high 18 points Tuesday, did not return.

“It’s just one of those moments where it’s adversity and you got to learn how to respond,” Chapman said. “That next player that’s up needs to be ready to come in and make an impact. We hate that for Lena. That’s obviously a heartbreaker. It’s part of the game sometimes.”

The Titans now turn their attention to the Blue Devils, who they defeated 42-28 back on Dec. 30.

“They’ve been rolling here of late,” Chapman said. “They play a tough schedule. They’re very fundamental. They’ve got some key pieces that we’re going to have to key in on and make sure that we have a good scout and a good defense to execute well on on Saturday morning.”

McCullough added, “We have the toughest conference in the state when it comes to single-A and double-A.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.