LAKELAND — The Mainland Buccaneers will have the chance to go back to back.

Set up by a huge second quarter, the defending 5A champions crushed No. 3 River Ridge 62-31 in the state semifinals Wednesday at the RP Funding Center. They’ll engage in a 2023 rematch with No. 1 American Heritage in the finals at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

"I think that, as a team, we played an average game," coach Brandon Stewart said. "But we’re fine. Like (I’ve said) before, when you get to Lakeland, anything can happen. Things happen that you’re not prepared for, sometimes ... But how do you withstand that? How do you respond to that? And for us to still win by 31 points is commendable for our girls."

Junior Olivia Olson recorded the first three points of the game, and No. 2 Mainland (18-12) started on a 9-4 run. The Royal Knights (25-6) responded with four straight points — two free throws by sophomore Lexi Wade and a bucket by junior Lauren Lee — to pull within one (9-8).

Then, the Bucs blew it open.

Senior Jade Parks made a layup and junior Samantha Lecas hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of the first quarter. In the second, Olson, Parks, Lecas and senior Anovia Sheals all scored before River Ridge put a single point on the board.

After a free throw by Royal Knights freshman Mya Greene, Mainland rattled off seven more points. The end result: a 21-1 run across six minutes.

Mainland led 34-15 at halftime.

"I felt like we got our little jitters out the first couple minutes," said senior Tia Dobson, who had 9 points. "... I feel like that run kind of had us snap back into it, like, 'Here, this is basketball.' That’s what we play."

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Sheals assembled her own individual run in the third quarter. She tallied the Bucs’ first 11 points out of intermission. She finished with a game-high 21 points.

Mainland entered the fourth quarter ahead 50-23 and cruised to a 62-31 victory, doubling up River Ridge. Its biggest lead (62-29) came in the final minute after a Lecas 3-pointer.

Sixty-two is also the same point total the Bucs had in last year’s title game against American Heritage.

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Lecas also reached double figures with 15 points. Parks grabbed 19 rebounds, 10 more than any other player.

Mainland shot 34.8% from the field and held the Royal Knights to 24.4%.

Lee paced the Royal Knights with 15 points.

"I think that we’re definitely going to be ready for Friday," Stewart said. "Most times, when we don’t have a game we feel like was really good, they kind of come back to the next game with a certain type of vengeance. For me, I’m really excited about Friday."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school basketball: Mainland girls clinch 5A finals return