Eudora ? The jerseys and players stayed the same, but luckily for the Baldwin High girls basketball team, the result was different.

After dropping three consecutive Class 4A sub-state games and two regular-season games this season to Spring Hill, Baldwin finally defeated its Frontier League foe, 46-40, Friday to advance to the Eudora sub-state championship.

When the final buzzer sounded, BHS coach Eric Toot thrust his arms in the air. He then hugged coaches and players and anyone else in his vicinity as the players jumped around excitedly and received hugs from their school’s cheerleaders.

“For me, it’s a sigh of relief, but for the girls, most of them weren’t a part of that,” Toot said of his postseason losing streak to the Broncos. “They were just trying to win a basketball game.”

Baldwin (10-11) has other traditional rivals, but the Broncos aren’t far behind after continual postseason and Frontier League scrums like Friday’s.

“It feels really great to step up and meet the challenge,” BHS guard Ellie Meinen said. “It meant a lot to people to finally beat them.”

Anyone who watched the season’s first two games knew the game would be another antacid special.

Earlier this season, the Broncos (12-9) beat the Bulldogs, 65-60, in overtime in the third-place game of the Wellsville Top Gun Invitational.

Spring Hill eked out another victory — 56-55 — 12 days later at Baldwin.

Baldwin High's Kara Tompkins (13) and Denise Orloff run toward their teammates to celebrate a 46-40 victory over Spring Hill. The victory Friday in Eudora sent the Bulldogs into today's sub-state championship against Iola.

“We were ready for it, and it came down to the wire,” Toot said.

Kelsey Verhaeghe, who sent the first game to overtime with a layup and had a winning shot rim out in the second, Friday had a team-high 15 points, including a 6-for-7 performance from the free-throw line.

“We had a lot of faith, and we believed. … We played with a lot of intensity,” Verhaeghe said.

Meinen went 6-for-8 from the line and finished with eight points.

In the fourth quarter alone, Meinen and Verhaeghe attempted 12 free throws. They made 10.

“We got the ball to the right people,” Toot said. “Everybody that played had great poise.”

After being held scoreless and almost statless in the first half, BHS forward Denise Orloff came alive in the second half, giving the smaller Bulldogs some much-needed rebounding. She finished with nine rebounds, six points and four blocks, including a rejection that sealed the victory with less than 30 seconds remaining.

“She came in and was a difference-maker tonight,” Toot said.

Baldwin will face top-seeded Iola (20-1) today.

The Fillies dominated Osawatomie, 55-31, earlier Friday. Tipoff is 6 p.m. and will precede the boys championship game between Louisburg and Osawatomie.