On a Thursday night in the SunDome, an Almira/Coulee-Hartline sophomore named Madeline Isaak became, well, a superwoman -- one strong enough to hoist up and carry away the dreams of a whole bunch of people she didn't even know.

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They were the ones wearing Sunnyside Christian uniforms or sitting in the stands wearing the Knights' maroon-and-gold colors.

Isaak's heroics in ACH's 59-57 semifinal victory -- 26 points on 9-for-17 shooting, including 4-for-7 on 3-pointers -- included the final four points of the night, a game-tying fast-break layup with 2:02 remaining and the 16-foot game-winner with 63 ticks left on the scoreboard clock.

And all of that came just one night after she missed 11 of 14 shots in the third-ranked Warriors' opening-round victory over No. 2 St. John-Endicott.

"We saw her last year and she was awesome. Then we saw her last night and thought, hey, maybe she's not so super," Sunnyside Christian coach Al Smeenk said. "Tonight, she was super."

As far as Isaak was concerned, Thursday's game was easy. Wednesday's was hard.

"Yesterday was the day I was really nervous," Isaak said. "That's because it was the same draw we had last year" -- another first-round showdown against SJE -- "and we were up at halftime (in 2009) and lost by 20.

"After we won yesterday, it just felt like we could do it. I knew if we win this (quarterfinal against Sunnyside Christian), we've got an easy game tomorrow. And it just felt great, to be playing in a state game and not feeling any nerves at all."

The Knight certainly didn't make it easy. Julie Long, who averaged just five points during the season, buried one bloodless 3-pointer after another, going 5-for-10 from beyond the stripe en route to a team-high 17 points. Kelly Newhouse -- like Long, another SC senior who has spent a career reaching the quarterfinals or the semifinals only to be turned away -- was just as sensational, racking up 16 points on a variety of post moves and pulling down nine rebounds.

Between the two of them, and with a gutsy nine-point night from Hilari Bosma, playing with a torn ACL -- the Knights had enough offense to stay neck-and-neck with ACH. Sometimes they were in the Warriors' rear-view mirror and sometimes in front, but always within tailgating distance.

"When Julie hit those 3's, I'm not surprised. She can do it," Smeenk said. "And Kelly was a workhorse underneath. She just worked so hard."

But it wasn't enough. In a technically well-played game -- eight turnovers for the Knights, just five for ACH -- Sunnyside Christian ultimately lost it at the foul line. The Knights took no free throws in the first half while ACH was 9-for-12, and the Warriors ended up 13-for-20 to SC's 4-for-8.

And the Knights also lost it because, well, ACH simply won it. After a season in which the Warriors had rarely been tested, they were relentless down the stretch, with Nikki Osborne (14 points) and Isaak doing most of the damage.

"Our season, we probably played two games where it was even close," Isaak said. "We were winning every game by 30 or 40 points. It's fun to come to state and have competition."

And that competition remained neck-and-neck right up until the final second, when Bosma's 3-pointer drifted right of its target, and the buzzer sounded.

"We say there's no crying in basketball," Smeenk said with a little shrug. "But there is tonight.

"Their hearts are broken. To give everything you've got and to lose by two ..."