The third-seeded Harrisburg girls shook off any trepidations stemming from last year’s early departure from the postseason with a convincing 60-25 win over sixth-seeded Slater on Tuesday night.

Last year, the top-seeded Lady Bulldogs were stung when they fell to fourth-seeded Glasgow 57-51 after a first-round bye.

Harrisburg coach Ryan Richardson said that loss was undoubtedly on his players’ minds when they returned to the New Franklin court on Tuesday.

“We had a little PTSD from last year’s tournament up here,” he said. “It was good to get that monkey off our backs. This is a gym we don’t play in. It was great for us to come in, get our feet wet, take care of business, and get ready for a really big one against New Franklin.”

Harrisburg, seeded third, was all business against Slater. A 3-pointer by junior Emma Fisher kicked things off just nine seconds into the game, and the Lady Bulldogs quickly shot out to a 7-0 lead after just a minute of action.

Up 16-6 after one quarter, Harrisburg increased its lead to 31-14 by halftime.

Coach Richardson said his team had a game plan for Slater, and all 11 of his players executed. The Lady Bulldogs allowed Slater to score no more than eight points in any quarter.

“We came and did what we were supposed to do,” he said. “We only dressed 11 for this district tournament. And everybody went in, and everybody knew what they were doing.”

Freshman Jaidyn Stephenson led four Harrisburg players in double figures with 13 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter with a pair of 3-point shots. Fisher sank three shots from behind the arc to finish with 13 points. Seniors Brecca Thornhill added 11 points, and Carli Ellis posted 10.

Thornhill sank the Harrisburg’s only free throw of the night out of six team chances at the line. But the Lady Bulldogs got the job done everywhere else on the court, making five 3-pointers and 22 shots from 2-point range.

Harrisburg is now 16-11 overall, having won six out of the last seven games. And Richardson says his team is peaking at the right time.

“We turned the page, and we’re in tune right now,” he said. “We have kind of a different look and a different feel to what we’re doing, and that’s exciting. I really think we’re starting to play our best basketball.”

Harrisburg now moves on to face second-seeded New Franklin, who sat out Tuesday with a first-round bye.

New Franklin is 18-8 overall. The two teams had not faced one another since the 2016 district tournament when New Franklin won 46-39, before making it all the way to the Class 2 State Tournament.

“They are a great team, and you know this place is going to be rockin’,” Richardson said. “They’ve got two big players. We will probably throw a bunch of things their way and see which one we like the best. We will try to make those adjustments really early and fast.”

The winner of Thursday’s semifinal round will move on to the district championship game at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.