Dunkirk’s Jessica Beehler releases a floater during a Section VI, Class B1 playoff game against Medina last weekend at Dunkirk High School. OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot.

LOCKPORT — The Dunkirk Lady Marauders girls basketball team has had one of the most successful seasons in program history this season. Tonight, Dunkirk faces its toughest test of all. The Dunkirk Lady Marauders take on City Honors tonight in the Section VI, Class B1 Semifinals at Starpoint High School in Lockport at 7 p.m., with the winner earning a spot in the Sectional Final at Buffalo State College on Sunday.

Dunkirk (21-1, 5-seed) earned its stripes in the regular season, with a league title in CCAA Division 1 West, which is viewed by some as one of the toughest leagues in Western New York. Dunkirk’s only loss through the entire regular season came against Maple Grove, who made the trip to the State Final Four a year ago in Class C. The Lady Marauders even avenged the loss twice, with wins over Maple Grove at home and in the Frewsburg Tournament.

City Honors, however, hasn’t had to avenge anything.

The top seed in Class B1, the City Honors Centaurs enter tonight’s game with a perfect 21-0 record. In the most recent poll, the NY State Sportswriters Association has City Honors ranked as the third-best team in the entire state.

As good as Dunkirk is offensively, City Honors may have the best scorer on the floor tonight. City Honors junior center Kyra Wood is one of the top three scorers in all of Western New York regardless of class, at over 25 points per game. She has eclipsed 500 points this season, along with 246 rebounds in 20 contests. This is Wood’s third straight season over 20 points per game, including a career-high 31.8 points per game last season. She reportedly has Division-I interest from multiple schools.

Dunkirk’s best hope for containing Wood might just be tiring her out. With the style of play Dunkirk boasts, it’s hard for opponents to keep up with the high-octane offense of the Lady Marauders. Dunkirk has a way of changing up the math on its opponents — from trading 3s for 2s or relying on takeaways to create a large difference in opportunities, Dunkirk will certainly have its chances to put up its own impressive numbers in the stat sheet.

From point guard Jessica Beehler, shooting guard Kymi Nance, sharp-shooter Olivia Smith, forward Nadara O’Dell and center Amari Carter, the Lady Marauders certainly have the advantage in terms of experience. While City Honors has a relatively young rotation, Dunkirk’s five senior starters are hoping to extend their stellar careers at least one more game. After claiming the first league title since before any of the players on Dunkirk were ever born (or the Sports Editor covering them in tonight’s game, I might add…), the Lady Marauders are hoping to add a Sectional Championship to their long list of achievements. A win tonight would send Dunkirk back to Buffalo State College for the Class B1 Final. This group of five starters has been on that stage once before, but with a brutal loss to Fredonia two years ago still in the minds of the Lady Marauders, it would be even more sweet to rewrite the story on the biggest stage in Western New York.

Taking on City Honors will be no easy task for the Lady Marauders, but the best way to look at it is this: Dunkirk needs to beat the best to prove that title belongs to the Lady Marauders. Tonight is their chance to prove just that.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. tonight, after the conclusion of the first Class B1 Semifinal of Iroquois and East Aurora at 5:30 p.m. Follow along on Twitter @bradencarmen and @TheObserverNY for live coverage.