WATERTOWN – Once Hamlin controlled the pace Friday night, it was just a matter of time before the Chargers controlled the scoreboard as well.

Hamlin survived an early blitz from Red Cloud and then took over on the way to 57-35 semifinal victory in the Class A Girls’ State Basketball Tournament at the Watertown Arena. As result, the Chargers will now play in their third straight state title contest.

Red Cloud got off to a blistering start, scoring eight of the game’s first 10 points and led 15-13 after the opening quarter thanks in part to its full-court press.

“They jumped on us right away. It was a little shocking, but we just started to slow the ball down, play our pace, stay triple threat,” said Hamlin senior Kami Wadsworth. “We knew they were going to come hard, (we had to) use ball fakes to get them in the air and stay calm.”

The Chargers knew what was coming, they just didn’t know how fast it would get there.

“You just can’t replicate in practice the type of speed that those girls have. They keep coming at you,” said Hamlin coach Tim Koisti. “Coach (Matt) Rama does such a great job with those girls. Once we figured out where they’re coming from and how fast they are and how long they are, we just needed to kind of get used to it.”

Hamlin point-guard Addie Neuendorf found herself in the middle of the swarming pressure. The freshman calmly looked for open teammates to help break the press so the Chargers could get into their offense.

“You just have to use ball fakes,” Neuendorf said. “Your teammates are always looking to get open and then get it back and just go.”

Once Hamlin adjusted to the pace and got into its half-court offense, the Crusaders simply had no answers for the top-seeded team in the tourney. The Chargers reeled off 18 unanswered points at one stretch. Meanwhile, Hamlin was just as impressive on defense, allowing just eight points total in two-and-a half quarters to break the game open.

“Red Cloud is such a good team. I’m so proud of my kids’ effort,” Koisti said. “The thing that we work on every single day in practice is defense and they show it. They pride themselves on defense. I always tell them sometimes you can have an off night on offense, but you just have to have your defense and they really brought it tonight. All of them.”

The Chargers controlled the lane and rotated out to perimeters shooters to make points hard to come by for Red Cloud, which managed to make just two baskets total in the second and third quarters combined.

“The previous game they lit it up from three. They’re a very good team. They’re very fast. We just knew that we had to stay tight to those girls,” Wadsworth said. “Credit to Ally (Abraham) who was in the paint. She was helping all night long. Addie and Marissa (Bawdon) and Brooklyn (Brandriet), they did a fantastic job on all those girls.”

Wadsworth was her usual dominating self in the paint, making 10 of 14 field goals on the way to a game-high 23 points. The Chargers also connected on seven 3-pointers – four by Neuendorf – to help open up things down low.

“As long as we can get the ball down the court, break the press, slow the pace down, get the ball movement, ball fakes, triple threat,” Wadsworth said, “they space the floor and it opens it all up.”

Neuendorf finished with 13 points in the contest, which featured a large delegation of Hamlin fans decked out in Columbia blue.

“It feels really good,” Neuendorf said of the support of the loyal Charger supporters. “It helps when they travel and everybody is getting here. A big crowd always helps momentum.”

Ashlan Blound topped Red Cloud with 14 points. The Crusaders (21-3) face Sisseton for third place at 6 tonight.

Hamlin, 23-0, squares off against Wagner in the championship game around 7:45 tonight. The Chargers are highly motivated after coming up short in the title contest the past two seasons.

“We just have to fight. There’s 32 minutes,” Koisti said. “We have to fight and scrap and claw and do what we do, and if that’s not good enough, so be it, but we’re going to do our best to do what we do and go out and win it.”

RED CLOUD (21-3): Ashlan Blound 6 2-5 14, Lolo Carlow 4 0-2 9, Kennedy Fridia 2 2-3 8, Rhionna Brewer 2 0-0 4. Totals 14-35 4-10 35.

HAMLIN (23-0): Addison Neuendorf 4 1-2 13, Brooklyn Brandriet 2 0-0 6, Ally Abraham 1 4-6 6, Kami Wadsworth 10 3-5 23, Marissa Bawdon 3 2-2 9. Totals 20-36 10-15 57.

Red Cloud 15 19 23 35

Hamlin 13 32 43 57

3-point field goals – Red Cloud 3-9 (Carlow, Fridia 2); Hamlin 7-15 (Neuendorf 4, Brandriet 2, Bawdon). Fouled out – Red Cloud, Maikole Carlow. Total fouls – Red Cloud 17; Hamlin 11. Rebounds – Red Cloud 15 (M. Carlow 3, Fridia 3); Hamlin 18 (Neuendorf 5). Turnovers – Red Cloud 13; Hamlin 13. Assists – Hamlin 7 (Abraham 5). Steals – Red Cloud 7 (Blound 2, Fridia 2); Hamlin 7 (Brandriet 2, Abraham 2).