Staff photo / Preston Byers LaBrae’s Angel Scruggs (23) pulls up for a jump shot during the Vikings’ Division VI sectional semifinal win over Jeromesville Hillsdale on Wednesday in Leavittsburg.

LEAVITTSBURG — On paper, LaBrae had a relatively easy first-round playoff matchup Wednesday, but Jeromesville Hillsdale proved to be anything but an easy opponent.

Despite a superior record and seed, the Vikings endured a stiff, physical challenge from the Falcons, whose zone defense stalled much of LaBrae’s offensive flow. Still, the Vikings prevailed, defeating Hillsdale 40-31, in large part due to a 9-0 run down the stretch.

“It was a very physical game,” LaBrae coach Mandy Rowe said. “We didn’t execute as well offensively as I would have liked to, but we grinded it out. At the end, I thought we played hard and I thought we moved the ball and we made some big plays.”

The seventh-seeded Vikings entered Wednesday’s Division VI, Northeast 1 sectional semifinal with 11 more wins than Hillsdale, which finished the regular season with a 5-17 record and was seeded 27th.

“I knew that they were better than [their seed] because they play in one of the toughest leagues in Ohio, in Wayne County,” Rowe said. “So I knew they were probably a better team than some of the five-win teams we’ve seen in our area. I knew that they were going to be a strong, physical team. I’d watched them on film, and they’re well-coached. I could see that they were well-coached, and they moved the ball well.”

Neither team created much distance for most of Wednesday; although Hillsdale only led briefly early in the first quarter, the teams were not separated by double digits until 2:09 left in the game.

A factor in the tight scoreline was the physicality of the game, which limited easy looks at the basket, created 50-50 opportunities and led numerous players to fall to the hardwood throughout the night.

Using its height and length advantage, Hillsdale enjoyed an advantage on the glass and, in its shape-shifting zone defense, poked away numerous balls and routinely deflected and intercepted passes.

“They’re very long, so we knew that their size might give us some trouble. But they kept switching their zones up,” Rowe said. “We tried to play a faster pace, but their zone kind of slowed it down a little bit.”

The turnovers proved to be an issue for both sides, although neither managed to consistently convert the takeaways into points, keeping the score close.

Fortunately for the Vikings, who led by no more than four points at the end of any of the first three quarters, a Makayla Scruggs 3-pointer with 4:11 remaining in the fourth quarter sparked a 9-0 run. That ultimately put the game out of reach for the Falcons, whose offense nearly went the final four minutes without any points.

Riley Rowe, who scored LaBrae’s’ first six points Wednesday, contributed a game-high 17 in the win. Angel Scruggs also added nine points.

With the victory, No. 7 LaBrae (17-6) advances to the sectional final, where it will host No. 11 Grand Valley (15-6) on Saturday in Leavittsburg. The winner advances to the district semifinal to face either Hartville Lake Center Christian or Kirtland.

“They’re a great team. They’ve had a great season,” Mandy Rowe said of the Mustangs. “We played them last year. We scrimmaged them at the beginning of the year. I think it’s going to be a grind. It’ll be very competitive. They have some really good players, and they’re strong and physical, so I know that they will bring a lot of physicality to the team.”