Staff photo / Dan Hiner Western Reserve’s Baylie Sinn, right, tries to score around Seneca East’s Karlie Foos during the third quarter of Thursday’s Division VIi regional final at Massillon Perry.

PERRY HEIGHTS — It was one bad quarter. That’s all it took for Seneca East to take over in Thursday’s girls basketball Division VII regional semifinal.

Western Reserve hung with the Tigers in the other three quarters, but it fell 45-33 at Massillon Perry on Thursday evening.

“We didn’t play good. We fumbled the ball around. But bottom line is the third quarter,” Western Reserve head coach Steve Miller said.

Turnovers plagued the opening minutes. Nearly the first three minutes went by without a point, but Chloeigh Endsley’s layup got the Blue Devils on the board 2:55 into the quarter.

The scoring remained low, and the Blue Devils held a 7-5 lead at the end of the first.

Five straight points by Seneca East got the Tigers back in the game early in the second quarter. The lead changed hands five times and the game was tied once, but the Tigers took a 19-17 lead at halftime.

Then the third quarter started.

The combination of rebounding, a couple missed layups, turnovers and fouls all hit Western Reserve (23-3) at one time.

Seneca East scored the first five points of the third, resulting in Miller calling a timeout. But it didn’t help.

The Tigers took advantage of two Blue Devil turnovers, and just like that, Seneca East was on a 10-0 run. The Tigers outscored the Blue Devils 20-5 in the third and led 39-22.

“In moments like this, you gotta make your layups, you gotta make your free throws,” Miller said.

Western Reserve went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 43-30 with 1:30 to play. The Blue Devils started fouling to keep the game alive, but it was too late to put together a comeback.

“I think this team’s legacy is how hard they played, even in the fourth quarter when no one thinks you have a prayer and a chance,” Miller said.

Seneca East’s Izzy Stockmaster led all scorers with 15 points, and Madi Smith added 10 for the Tigers (19-7).

Quincy Miller led Western Reserve with 10 points. Kylee Ramsey and Endsley both scored six, and Baylie Sinn had five.

The Blue Devils had another solid year. They won another district title, became the first team in program history to win 20 games during the regular season and won the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Scarlet Tier.

Western Reserve will graduate four seniors from this year’s team. The seniors were Kylee Allen, Alyssa Fiscus, Quincy Miller and Ramsey. Quincy Miller and Ramsey both were 1,000-point scorers during their time on the hardwood, so there will be big shoes to fill for next season.

It’s a fact that Steve Miller is aware of, but there will also be a large number of potential returning players from this year’s team. That will include Endsley in the post and some young players who saw time this winter.

“If we want a chance to surprise people, it starts in 28 days,” Miller said.