The fourth-seeded Glasgow girls overcame a slow first half to escape with a 41-28 first-round win over Salisbury, the fifth seed, in Monday’s Class 2 District 7 opener in Glasgow.

The win was number 20 for the Lady Yellowjackets this season. They now advance to take on top-seeded Harrisburg (21-5) tonight (Wednesday) in the semifinals.

Despite possibly punching above their weight in the first half, the Salisbury Lady Panthers ended their season 8-18 overall after starting two sophomores, two juniors, and just one senior in what would turn out to be their final game of the season.

The Panthers opened Monday’s district opener with gritty defense that caused a veteran Yellowjacket team that averages more than 52 points per game to struggle around the basket.

It wasn’t until more than half of the opening quarter had passed before the Jackets got on the board. Senior Halle Fuemmeler, who has already scored more than 2,000 career points, finally broke the ice with a 3-pointer followed by a quick bucket to even the score at 5-5.

“We knew they were solid defensively. They played very, very hard,” said Glasgow coach Molly Monnig. “They make teams struggle to score.”

Case in point was Salisbury senior Ayla King, who drew the tough defensive assignment of guarding Fuemmeler.

“She’s a tremendous athlete,” Monnig said about King’s defense. “I thought sometimes Halle was a little indecisive on what she was going to do with Ayla King on her. But she made some tough shots when we needed them.”

Salisbury finished the opening period with a 9-7 lead, and both teams duked it out in a physical second quarter to a near draw. But Salisbury managed to stay ahead at every turn, taking a one-point lead, 17-16, into the break.

Glasgow made some adjustments in the second half to find ways of opening up Karsyn Massie. Already with 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, the tall senior had just three points in the first two quarters. She netted the first basket of the second half to give the Jackets a lead they would never surrender, scoring eight of the team’s 13 points in the third quarter.

“I think in the second half, a big thing was we got Karsyn going,” Monnig said. “They ran two at Halle on the pick and roll. She found Karsyn a couple of times. They went junk defense for a little bit, and we found Karsyn in the short corner.”

Massie scored 14 of her 17 total points in the second half. And it wasn’t just her shooting that made a difference. She dominated the glass and blocked three shots within a minute during a stretch in the fourth quarter as Glasgow turned a five-point lead after three quarters into a double-digit advantage with 2:24 left to play.

Monnig said her team matched Salisbury’s defensive physicality in the second half. The Panthers scored just four points in the final stanza as Glasgow pulled away with 12 in the final eight minutes to advance.

Fuemmeler led all scorers with 18 points and a 3-pointer, scoring 12 of the team’s 16 points in the first half.

“She got some really tough buckets to fall in the first half, and really kept us in the game when we were struggling,” Monnig said.

Massie added 17, followed by juniors Karah Graves with four and Aly Prentzler with two.

Glasgow finished 9-for-12 from the line, compared to 2-for-6 for Salisbury. King led five Panthers in the scorebook with nine points, followed by seven from sophomore Kayden Korte. Junior Brynn Bachtel added four, followed by three each from junior Lydea Britt and freshman Natalie Biere.

Glasgow will face Harrisburg for a chance to stay alive and advance to the district championship on Friday night.

“They are a very good, well-coached team. It’s a matchup we’re excited about,” Monnig said.

Both teams have reached the 20-win mark for the season. But despite both playing the Glasgow Tournament, they haven’t played each other yet this season. Harrisburg won by 10 in the last matchup on Dec. 2, 2024.

“We both played pretty tough schedules. We’ve had some common opponents, so it will be a fun game to play,” Monnig said.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.