East Henderson (26-2) earned a berth in Saturday’s championship game against South Caldwell (29-1), but the Eagles of the Mountain Athletic Conference weren’t assured of advancing until the final 30 seconds at Lenoir-Rhyne College’s Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.

Coach Angie Waddell’s South Piedmont Conference champions closed out the season with a 23-6 overall mark, matching the third-best record in school history.

West trailed by 10 points five times, the first time at 32-22 at halftime.

Coach Mike Pryor of the Eagles warned his players.

“I told the girls at halftime when we had that 10-point lead, I said, ‘It’s not over. They’re going to make a run at us. They’re going to come back and play hard,’” said the East Henderson coach.

The Falcons actually made two great runs. First, West cut a 41-32 deficit down to 41-39 when forward Kate Goodman scored five points in less than a minute, then assisted on a basket by point guard Kari Schenk.

East Henderson went back up by 10 at 50-40 early in the third quarter. It was 52-43 when West went on another run.

This time, Schenk scored on a transition layup, reserve forward Danielle Scearce hit two free throws, guard Kristen McNeely converted a steal into a basket and Goodman made a free throw — a 9-0 run that pulled the Falcons within 52-50 with 2:39 to play.

“I credit that to the teams that we’ve played all year to get us ready. That’s a compliment to the conference that we’re in,” said Waddell. “We’ve been in these situations before and battled back. I had total confidence in my team that they would do that, and they did.”

East Henderson’s two NCAA Division I signees, 5-11 forward Cristi Strickland (UNC Charlotte) and stocky 5-8 center Nicki Fauntleroy (HighPoint) controlled the final 2:20 after West’s last run.

First, Fauntleroy scored off her own missed shot. When teammate Lauren Few missed at the foul line, Fauntleroy grabbed the rebound, drew a foul and hit two free throws. Strickland made two free throws for a 58-53 lead with 1:34 to play.

West’s McNeely countered with a 3-pointer, and it was 58-56 with 1:24 to go. Falcons forward Sara Pieper then came through with a big defensive play, blocking Strickland’s shot. Waddell called time out with 54.6 seconds to go, setting up a play.

When play resumed, however, Pieper’s wild pass was intercepted by Katie Easler of the Eagles, setting up two free throws by Strickland with 29.1 seconds left.

Goodman kept her team’s hopes alive by driving for a layup with 21.8 seconds left, but Few countered with two free throws for a four-point lead with 13.8 seconds to go that wrapped it up.

East Henderson came into the tournament with the reputation of being a powerful offensive team, averaging 75 points a game, but West had played well defensively all year, allowing an average of only 43 points.

“For them to average 75 points, you’ve got to show it to me, buddy,” said Waddell. “To average 75 points a game for a girls team, to me, is a lot. I knew they were not going to score 75 points on us. Defense: That’s what I encourage. Defense will win you ball games and championships too.”

Waddell added, “It does kind of make me wonder. I don’t know if the teams (in the Mountain Athletic) are that weak, or if East Henderson is that much stronger. ... They’ve got a lot of people on their team that can score. To hold them in the 60s, that says something about us.”

The quick Strickland led her team’s scoring with 21 points. Few scored 14, and Fauntleroy added 12. Fauntleroy and Strickland each had 10 rebounds for double-doubles with Fauntleroy getting half of hers in the final quarter.

“We told Nicki and Cristi, ‘Give them one shot, and we’ve got to have the boards.’ Those two have done it for us all year. Those two are small compared to a lot of teams we’ve played this year, but they’re warriors on the backboards,” said Pryor.

“Thirty-four (Strickland) has got long arms, and 50 (Fauntleroy) is very strong. A couple of times she was pulling the ball down with one hand. For her size, she’s quick,” said Waddell. “They were very effective on the boards.”

The Eagles outrebounded West 38-24, including a 9-1 advantage in the final quarter.

Junior center Shameeka Wansley, who didn’t miss a shot in the second half, led West’s scoring with 15 points. Seniors Goodman and Schenk added 14 and 12, respectively. Schenk added seven rebounds, five assists and a couple of steals, while Goodman had seven rebounds, three steals, a blocked shot and an assist.

“She (Schenk) is a great ball player. She handles the ball extremely well and gets them set up,” said Pryor. “Goodman: She’s got a real quick first step. She’s a real good ball player. ... They’re a good club. You don’t get this far and not be a quality club. They’re a quality club.”

Waddell said of the seniors, “Kari’s one heck of a ball player. I’d hate to play against her. I’ll miss her. I’ll miss Goodman too. She’s very tough and she’s got what it takes to play at the next level. Both of them are very capable of playing at the next level if they choose too.”

Schenk plans to attend Appalachian State and not play basketball. Goodman hasn’t made a college decision yet.

Waddell said she’s got no regrets after West advanced to the Western Regionals for only the second time in school history.

“I think we’ve had a very successful year. We’re here and no doubt one of the best teams in the state. I think we had 19 goals (preseason). To me, I think we achieved every one of them. I’m so proud of them, and I love every one of them to death,” she exclaimed.

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NOTES: Schenk closed out her four-year varsity career with 1,446 points, while Goodman wound up with 982 — 662 in her two seasons with the Falcons after transferring from Northwest Cabarrus. ... The Falcons outscored East Henderson on field goals 50-43. West went 24-for-58 (41.4 percent) from the floor to the Eagles’ 20-for-50 (40 percent). East Henderson made three 3-pointers to two for West. ... East Henderson was sharp at the foul line, going 20-for-26 and outscoring West (8-for-20) by 12. ... West had 16 turnovers to 20 for the Eagles.

EAST HENDERSON (63) — Fauntleroy 12, Cooper 5, Strickland 21, Few 14, Easler 5, Ballard 2, Parkhill 4, Nelson.

WEST ROWAN (58) — Goodman 14, Pieper 4, Wansley 15, Schenk 12, McNeely 5, Scearce 8, Sloop.

E. Henderson 12 20 12 19 — 63