INDIANAPOLIS — Friday's semifinal has long felt inevitable. Lawrence Central vs. Lawrence North in the battle for Lawrence Township; a collision between two of the state's best at Cathedral High School in the sectional tournament.

The hype was fueled by a pair of regular-season thrillers, brought into focus by the sectional draw and made reality when the top-ranked Bears and No. 9 Wildcats won their respective quarterfinals.

The crowd, the atmosphere, the energy — it was all there.

Oh, and the game was really good, too.

After absorbing a series of haymakers over the first 13 minutes or so, Lawrence Central found its footing. Laila Abdurraqib stabilized the team late in the first, Mariah Kenter Garrett led a table-turning, lead-swinging defensive effort in the third and Jaylah Lampley initiated a total-team takeover late in the fourth, that turned a one-point lead into a 62-54 victory.

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Lawrence Central (25-1) completes the season sweep to advance to the sectional championship game opposite Warren Central (14-9).

Lawrence North finishes the season 18-6.

"(Lawrence North) caught us off-guard, but our girls, they bent, but they didn't break," LC coach Jannon Lampley said. "They settled in, got poised and they started making the right plays. ... I'm so proud of them."

The Bears, who trailed by as many as 12, found themselves down 29-20 late in the first quarter when Abdurraqib initiated her mini-takeover, accounting for eight of the team's next nine points to make it 31-29 at half.

This was essentially Abdurraqib's sectional debut. She was coming off an injury as a freshman, then was sidelined for last year's quarterfinal vs. Warren Central with injury.

"This is the moment I've been waiting for. I haven't had it before," Abdurraqib said. "My teammates helped me get to this point, the rehab, all of that, to play in this moment. I was finally able to relax and get going in the second quarter. Even though I was struggling in the first quarter, they stayed with me and we got there as a team."

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"It's a blessing," Jaylah said of playing with Abdurraqib. "My freshman year, I couldn't spend that moment with her, I couldn't endure that moment with her and I'm just blessed that she's healthy and we get to have our point guard back. We're starting to make history and I'm extremely thankful for this moment."

Lawrence North's quick start was fueled by its ability to generate turnovers (first three possessions of the game) and create fast-break opportunities the other way. Coach Jannon Lampley pushed back on the idea that her team was feeling the pressure of the moment early on, but said they were overthinking things. Once they settled in and resumed playing their style, they were able to take control.

As Abdurraqib carried the Bears, another trend was quickly developing: A turning of the tables on defense.

Led by Kenter Garrett, Lawrence Central began utilizing its length to disrupt passing lanes and begin generating turnovers itself, forcing three on the first three possessions of the second half and holding Lawrence North scoreless through the seven minutes of the third quarter.

"She was so big for us, so big," Jannon said of Kenter Garrett. "She set the tone. Smallest one on the court, but the biggest heart. She set the tone for us and they did a great job following her energy and her aggression and her focus. I thought we rode that wave from her for quite a while."

Jaylah Lampley gave LC its first lead of the night with a field goal, then delivered the play of the night in the fourth, negating a Kya Hurt 3-pointer with a 3-point play that made it 52-47 with less than two minutes remaining.

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It was a moment reminiscent of last year's sectional quarterfinal vs. Warren Central when Jaylah nearly knocked off the Warriors single-handedly, but this time she had help in closing out the win with sister Lola and fellow sophomore Aniyah Mckenzie both delivering critical buckets to help ice the win down the stretch.

"The preparation was very big. Everybody executed the gameplan," Jaylah said. "Everybody stepped up to the occasion, stepped up to the challenge."

Lawrence Central enters Saturday looking to win its first sectional championship since 1987.

Warren Central rolls by Tech, into sectional final

Warren Central surrendered the first basket and committed a few turnovers in the opening minutes of Friday’s first semifinal, but those were mere blips on the radar amidst an otherwise dominating performance by the Warriors, who had 60 points by halftime en route to an 88-51 win over Arsenal Tech.

Warren Central (14-9) advances to its second consecutive sectional final. The Titans finish the season 7-15.

"We talked to them about respecting the game," coach Stacy Mitchell said. "No matter who you're playing, you do your best and you don't showboat or show anybody out. You go out there and play hard. That's the way you respect the game and when you do that, you respect your opponent at the same time."

On a night when not much went Tech’s way, senior Kayla Lacombe stood out as a bright spot, tallying 43 points with 14 field goals (six 3s) and a 9-for-11 mark at the line. Her collection of field goals included a falling jumper through traffic in the first half and a deep 3-pointer to help start the second.

The 5-8 guard has been a shining star for the Titans over the course of her career, totaling over 1,100 points on 40% shooting.

LaCombe’s career spanned 15 wins over the past two seasons, with a City semifinals appearance and a narrow loss to Attucks in the sectional quarters.

"Kayla's the heartbeat of our team," coach Michael Fox said of Lacombe, who boasts a 4.3 GPA. "She's invested a lot of time, effort and energy into her craft. She's a model student on- and off the court. Someone's going to get a very good player."

Denyha Jacobs led Warren Central with 23 points, while Laila Mathis added 12.

WC lost four of five (Hamilton Southeastern, West Lafayette, Jennings County and Jennings County) entering the final week of the regular season, but posted back-to-back wins over North Central ahead of Friday's win over Tech.

The Warriors lost to Lawrence Central, 56-42, on Jan. 19.

"You have to box out against them because they're a bigger team," Mitchell said. "Playing with speed, playing together and playing sharp will be important. Basketball is about playing good defense, having good offense and sharing the basketball."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball sectionals: Lawrence Central tops Lawrence North