DAYTONA BEACH — This is why Mainland chose to play Colonial, the state’s top-ranked team.

This is why the Buccaneers scheduled No. 3 Dr. Phillips, No. 8 Winter Haven and No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas.

Thursday, with their season on the line again, they head to No. 4 Booker T. Washington. It’s the Region 1-5A championship game, tipping off at 6 p.m. A spot in the state’s final four hangs in the balance.

Mainland, which ranks 25th in Florida, beat No. 40 Rickards 52-42 on Monday to reach this point. It is the last Volusia-Flagler squad standing.

“I think that all the games we’ve been through this year prepared us for (Monday’s) game,” coach Brandon Stewart said.

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And Thursday’s. And the state semifinals and finals, if the Bucs were to advance that far.

After Mainland snatched its first 5A state championship last year, Stewart wanted to challenge his players even more. He loaded up their calendar. In addition to the current top-10 teams, they also faced IMG Academy, Montverde Academy, No. 13 Palm Bay, No. 14 Bishop Kenny, No. 19 Rutherford and No. 32 Spruce Creek.

The Bucs struggled early. They sat at 3-7 entering their winter break in mid-December. As January ended, they resided under .500 at 10-12.

Did the players ever grow frustrated or desire a quick reprieve?

“We were definitely feeling that way right after the game,” junior Olivia Olson said. “But after a couple days, we were just ready to get back out there. We definitely had the talent. It didn’t go our way most games, but I think, throughout this journey, it made us play really well these last few games, getting us prepared for the next games coming up.”

Mainland enjoyed some success as well. It collected wins over the likes of Ponte Vedra (No. 49), Rutherford, Palm Bay, Cumberland County (the 29th-ranked team in Tennessee, according to MaxPreps) and Laconia (the fifth-ranked team in Wisconsin).

Now, the Bucs (16-12) have won six straight games to kick off February. That includes a District 4-5A title win over Deltona and a regional semifinal victory over Choctawhatchee.

“Even the game that we just played against Rickards, I think that those hard games that we played, when things got rough, our girls got a little bit rattled but not rattled enough to lose a game,” Stewart said. “It’s kind of like, ‘We’ve been here before. We know how this goes.’”

The early season road trips helped.

Mainland went to Fort Lauderdale this season. It visited Tampa. It hit Jacksonville. So, the six-hour van ride to Pensacola for the regional finals didn’t seem intimidating.

“I’m sure all the girls are going to do is sleep or do homework,” Olson said.

“We talk, and we listen to music,” Stewart said. “They sing their hearts out. They go to sleep. They wake up, sing again ...

“We have a really good group. I’m just really trying to take advantage of that and just continue to help them be together and build chemistry, which is one of the reasons we’re excited to even go on this trip.”

Plus, they had been expecting this. To be in this position as a regional finalist, of course. But also to match up with this specific opponent.

Stewart has been studying Booker T. Washington since last year. By following the rankings, he anticipated a playoff contest against the Wildcats (23-1) as far back as December. They hold the region’s top seed. The Bucs are the second seed.

“They’re a good team,” Stewart said. “I think it’s going to be a really good chess match. We know everything about them, actually. We know their best player’s favorite color. That’s the joke I’ve been telling the girls.”

Booker T. Washington’s best player, sophomore center Chamiah Francis, averages 19.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. Her height is listed as 6-foot-3. No other Wildcat averages more than nine points per game.

Mainland relied on the usual cogs to down Rickards Monday. Senior Anovia Sheals pieced together another double-double — 18 points and 12 rebounds. Olson scored 17 points. Senior Tia Dobson added 12.

“We’re just trying to have fun with it and get to the next level,” Olson said.

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According to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s strength of schedule rating, Mainland endured the fourth-hardest slate in the state. Booker T. Washington’s schedule slotted 20th.

The Wildcats have competed in only four games with margins of five points or less. Their record: 3-1.

They share only one common opponent with the Bucs. Booker T. Washington took on Choctawhatchee three times and won all three.

“I think the battles and the tests are a little different,” Stewart said. “But at the end of the day, it still comes down to one game. Now, it’s just about us performing.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school basketball: Mainland Bucs forged grit through adversity