The sophomore forward turned it around in the third quarter.

And the Lady Dutchmen followed her lead.

Pikett had 11 of her game-high 20 points in the third quarter as Holland outscored Chautauqua Lake, 23-14, en route to a 65-46 win in the Section VI Class C crossover game at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex.

“Claire was on my team two years ago … here as a little eighth-grader. She has grown by leaps and bounds,” Holland head coach Sam Arnold said. “She fell into her own today. I try to promote getting the ball moving and playing basketball in transition. We try to get her in space as much as possible.”

Chautauqua Lake’s Alexis Jacobson, left, drives against a Holland defender during Tuesday’s Class C1/C2 crossover game at Jamestown Community College. Photo by Matt Spielman.

“We knew Pikett would get what she would get inside, but we were just trying to contain Myla Kline,” Chautauqua Lake head coach Bill Persons said. ” … It was a toss-up with the eighth-grader (Kierra Kline) or the 10th-grader (Kaylin Kline). They ultimately hit some shots at the end and Pikett cleaned up inside.”

While leading the game in scoring, everything else Pikett did may have been more impressive.

The 6-foot forward also grabbed 14 rebounds, picked up four steals and blocked seven shots – six of which came in the second half.

“She’s the eraser. Our game plan was to pressure on ball, and even if you got beat, Claire would be back there,” Arnold said. “We do put a lot of pressure on her each and every day, but she’s always responded.”

“I just played the best defense I could,” Pikett added, “and didn’t worry about offense that much.”

The Lady Dutchmen led at halftime, 29-22, despite shooting just 10 of 38 (26.3%) from the field. They were helped by 10 Thunderbirds turnovers, off of which they scored eight points.

“We just needed to calm down,” Arnold said. “We were missing bunnies that we usually hit.”

Chautauqua Lake got within four at three different points late in the third quarter, but each time Holland had an answer.

Junior Rebecca Henry picked up her fourth foul for the Thunderbirds with 3:04 left in the period. Chautauqua Lake sophomore Lily Woodis scored to make it 35-31 and following a Pikett bucket, Thunderbirds sophomore Alexis Jacobson hit a pair of free throws to put the deficit back to four.

After a 3-pointer from Lady Dutchmen sophomore Kaylin Kline, Woodis hit a 3-pointer of her own to make it 40-36 with 1:54 left.

Not to be outdone, Holland senior Myla Kline hit a 3-pointer and Kaylin Kline followed with another 3-pointer before two Pikett free throws and a Pikett three-point play quickly turned a four-point game into a 15-point game with 34.8 seconds left in the third quarter.

“Kaylin Kline had two 3s in the third quarter and that was everything,” Arnold said.

Jacobson scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to make it a 13-point game, but Chautauqua Lake never got closer the rest of the way as the Lady Dutchmen clinched themselves a spot in Saturday’s 3 p.m. Far West Regional against Section V champion Pembroke, which beat Keshequa, 48-43, on Tuesday.

Henry and Jacobson led the Thunderbirds with 12 points apiece while Woodis added 10.

“Between Henry being in foul trouble … Lexi was battling and Lily was really trying to fight a cold,” Persons said. “I think the girls played a heck of a game. They never gave up. It was a gutsy performance.”

Myla Kline finished with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, while Kaylin Kline and sophomore Ava Linder each had 12 points. Linder also grabbed 14 rebounds for the Lady Dutchmen.

“Her nickname is the junkyard dog. She is the kid on the team that usually gets the best player on the other team. … She sets screens and has really accepted her role,” Arnold said of Linder. “I’m just so proud of her because she just wants to win. When you have kids like that … they are the reason why we got that plaque.”

“(Ava) does everything that no one else wants to,” Pikett added. “She’s always on the offensive boards and working her butt off. She’s very important to this team.”

Holland’s only other sectional title before this year came in 2016, when it won Class C-2 and beat Allegany-Limestone in the crossover game before losing to Section V champion South Seneca in the regional.

“It’s a 12-month program and we really push the kids hard,” Arnold said. “I think it shows a lot about their character that they’re willing to go the extra.”

“This means everything because I know our team has really worked hard this season and put in the effort to get this far,” Pikett added. “I think we are very happy that our hard work has finally paid off.”

NOTES: Kaylin Kline had seven assists and Kierra Kline had four assists for Holland, which went 22 of 69 (31.9%) from the field, including 8 of 21 (38.1%) from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 12 times. … Jacobson had seven rebounds while Henry and Mercedez Obert each had six for Chautauqua Lake, which went 17 of 61 (27.9%), including 4 of 14 (28.9%) from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 18 times.