CHILLICOTHE — The word "special" was thrown around a lot following Peoria Notre Dame’s first girls basketball postseason plaque in a decade.

“I’m just excited that we get a few more practices,” PND girls basketball coach Layne Langholf, “and another chance to play with this just amazing, special group of kids.”

The Class 2A top-ranked Irish defeated Sherrard 66-33 on Friday to win the Illinois Valley Central Regional title game, sending PND into the sectional for the first time since 2014.

The Irish (29-4) head to historic Alice Ingersoll Gymnasium for a 6 p.m. Tuesday meeting with Bloomington Central Catholic (26-6) in the first Canton Sectional semifinal.

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It will be a homecoming of sorts for Langholf, who quipped he’s "coached in Alice a few times." He spent 13 years patrolling the Little Giants sidelines, collecting 207 victories. While his teams came close to winning a regional, they never broke through. This time, the coach is at the helm of PND making its 13th sectional in program history.

“It’s as good as you think it’s going to be,” Langholf said. “I’m so happy that they get to experience this along with our staff, the great community that supports us. … Just happy for these kids and all the time they put in. They love being together and, you know, for now, we get another few days together.”

Extending her season was a major goal for Mya Wardle. The senior guard, who scored a game-high 20 points Friday, had experienced regional title losses in her previous two postseasons. Not in this game.

“It was really special,” the Eastern Kentucky signee said, “we wanted this one for him and obviously, you know, I’ve been working toward this for four years. It’s a really special moment.”

That was the case against Sherrard, which grabbed an early six-point lead. But from there, PND outscored them 35-8 highlighted by a 16-point run between the first and second quarters. All five starters — Wardle, Kaitlin Cassidy, Julia Mingus, Lexi Baer and Emy Wardle — all knocked down 3-pointers in that stretch.

“Every time we’ve been here in the past, we just haven’t gotten the job done,” Mya Wardle said, “so I think there were some nerves coming into it, but once we settled down, our team’s ability to knock down shots and run the floor tires teams out.”

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Emy Wardle scored all 12 of her points in the first half, going 5-for-5 from the field. The freshman kept her poise, dished out a few assists and utilized intense pressure to create turnovers into baskets. She scored the final seven PND points by way of a 3-pointer, a drive to the hoop and a layin.

“Once you see the ball go in once,” Emy said, “it’s a mindset from there. It’s always a mindset from the beginning of the game just attack, attack and get yourself going. Getting yourself going isn’t always scoring. I like to get my teammates open, get assists, get steals, get rebounds to get myself going, then the points will come with that.”

And now, it’s on to the next game as one of the final 32 teams remaining in Class 2A.

“It’s definitely special,” Emy said. “My first year with my sister. It’s her first regional in four years and it’s Layne’s (first)  … We can only build on it from here and hope to go farther than this.”

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA girls basketball: Peoria Notre Dame wins first regional since 2014