Mountain Iron-Buhl seniors Chelsea Mason and Mya Buffetta are state tournament regulars. They are six-year veterans of a team that has made seven consecutive appearances, including a trip to the Class 1A championship game in 2012.

Mason and Buffetta will get one final chance to bring a championship back to the Iron Range after defeating state tournament rival Maranatha 79-65 in the Class 1A semifinals. The victory Friday at Williams Arena was a salve for a soul-crushing, last-second overtime loss to Maranatha in the 2016 semifinals.

“They beat us last year and deep down, we wanted to get revenge,” said Mason, a career-3,000 point scorer.

“That was heartbreaking,” Mya Buffetta added.

Mountain Iron-Buhl let 36-26 at halftime and bumped the lead to 43-29 early in the second half before Maranatha made a run. The Mustangs (23-8) cut the lead to three with 10 minutes left, but that was as close as they would get.

“I can’t lie, those thoughts [of 2016] crept in a little bit,” Mountain Iron-Buhl coach Jeff Buffetta said. “But we’ve played Maranatha so many times over the last six years and every game is like this. One of us is going to get up and the other is going to battle back.”

Mason and Buffetta each scored 18 points for Mountain Iron-Buhl (31-1). Maranatha’s Sami Payne led all scorers with 31 points.

Mason said she relishes one more chance to play in a championship game. “I’m really excited because it’s been a long time since we’ve been there,” she said.

And what does she recall from previous championship game?

“We lost to Maranatha then, too.”

JIM PAULSEN

First report

Top-seeded Mountain Iron-Buhl exacted its revenge on Maranatha, holding off a frenzied charge from the Mustangs for a 79-65 victory in the Class 1A semifinals.

In 2016, the Rangers had an overtime victory over Maranatha slip away when the Mustangs scored on an offensive rebound putback as the extra session expired of the semifinal game.

On Friday at Williams Arena, Mountain Iron-Buhl (31-1) built a 14-point lead early in the second half, withstood a Maranatha rally that closed the gap to five, then pulled away from the free throw line to cap the victory.

Chelsea Mason and Mya Buffetta each scored 18 points for the Rangers, who advance to the championship game for the second time in team history.

Sami Payne led Maranatha with 31 points.

Check back later for more on the game.