With an and-one by McKenzie Cselovszki, the Indians (27-4) took a 47-37 lead with 6:36 left to play in the game. Ada-Borup (27-3) battled back to take a 51-50 lead with 32 seconds in the game, though, after a 3 by Mariah McKeever.

Sleepy Eye fans in attendance became quiet briefly after the big 3. But Madi Heiderscheidt helped turn the volume back up soon after on a full-court layup to put the Indians ahead 52-51 just 10 seconds later.

With the Cougars looking for a shot to put them back in the lead, Heiderscheidt picked up a key steal and was fouled with 3.3 seconds to go. With the Indians in double-bonus, she missed her first free throw but made up for it by knocking down her second to give Sleepy Eye a 2-point lead.

Ada-Borup got one last desperation 3-point attempt near half court but failed to connect, and the Indians advanced to meet Mountain Iron-Buhl at 2 p.m. Friday at Target Center in semifinal action.

Heiderscheidt led the Indians with 25 points (18 in the first half), eight steals and four assists. She was hard on herself after the game for missing free throws, 7 for 11 on the night, but there was no doubting that she was key in her team’s win.

“I’ve always felt like a leader for my team, and I try to do whatever I can, whenever I can for them to stay in the ball game,” Heiderscheidt said. “Tonight, yeah, I did have to score. A couple girls weren’t hitting their shots. Our bunnies weren’t falling, but luckily mine were. So that’s what I had to do tonight.”

The Indians let an early 9-6 lead in the first half slip away as Ada-Borup went on an 11-0 run to lead 17-9. The Cougars were led by three buckets from Kora Kritzberger during the run.

Kritzberger ended up leading the Cougars all game with 21 points, five boards and three assists.

Sleepy Eye, however, battled back and led 27-25 at the half after Heiderscheidt knocked down a long, buzzer-beating 3 off the glass.

Cselovszki also had a big game for the Indians, despite fouling out in the second half with 5:22 remaining. She added 11 points for Sleepy Eye and converted on three and-ones.

“We really missed that inside presence when McKenzie’s out of the game,” Heiderscheidt said. “Like [Sleepy Eye coach Ryan] Hulke said, she uses her body really well. And I think she’s leading our team in and-ones, so I think we lose a little momentum and a little bit of size obviously without her.”

Cselovszki said she was nervous having to just watch the game in the final minutes.

“It was very nerve-racking,” Cselovszki said. “I kept telling my teammates on the bench, ‘I can’t breathe, I want to be out there!’ And I want to help them, but it’s a great win overall.”

Mya Ibberson also added 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Sleepy Eye. Sarah Ibarra added 6 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Indians.

The Mountain Iron-Buhl Rangers defeated Stephen-Argyle Central 59-47 earlier on Thursday to advance to the semifinals matchup with Sleepy Eye. They were led by Mary Burke, who scored 26 points and added seven rebounds.

These two teams met at state two years ago, where Mountain Iron-Buhl knocked off Sleepy Eye 70-37. This will be a chance for the Indians to get a little payback with a win that would lead to a championship game at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Target Center.

A loss would knock the Indians down to the third-place game at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Concordia University.