While the top seeds held serve in the first three games of the girls 2A State Tournament in Manhattan Wednesday, the Valley Heights girls made sure the trend didn’t continue in the final game of the night as the 6-seeded Mustangs dominated from start to finish taking down 3-seed West Elk 50-33.

Valley Heights worked out to a 19-4 advantage after the first quarter, as the Mustangs forced four turnovers while freshman Emma Toerber notched 8 points in the first frame.

Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter, but Valley Heights won the quarter 8-7 to extend their lead to 27-11 at the break.

West Elk tried to get back into the game in the third quarter at one point trimming what was a 19-point deficit down to 11, but the Mustangs responded and won the third quarter 13-10 to take a 40-21 lead into the fourth.

Valley Heights’ senior, Kayla Smith struggled shooting the ball Wednesday night hitting just 2 of 11 shots in the first half, but finished strong to ice the game for the Mustangs scoring 6 points in the fourth quarter going 4-for-5 from the free throw line.

The win pushes the Mustangs into their third final four in school history, as the last feat came back in 2014 when Valley Heights finished runner-up in 1A-I.

Valley Heights will meet 2-seed Olpe Friday night in the semifinal round, as tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 with live coverage on 92.1 KMZA.

Valley Heights: Emma Toerber – 18, Kayla Smith – 11, Sam Vermetten – 10, DeAndra Woodyard – 10, Shea Manley – 1.

West Elk: Alyssa Gillespie – 11, Many Olsman – 8, Megan McClendon – 6, Macy McClendon – 6, Dakota Wiseman – 2.