Gilbert's Brynn Wade swishes game-clinching free throw in quarterfinal win over Hamilton (AzPreps365 photo)

There wasn't panic from Gilbert High with 2:10 left in Saturday's matchup with upset-minded Hamilton. The Tigers, however, were concerned since a seven-point lead after three quarters had fllpped to a three-point edge for the visiting Huskies.

It bolied down to free throws from that point and Gilbert got the best of the parade to the charity stripe in edging Hamilton, 59-55, in a 6A girls quarterfinal game at The Jungle.

Gilbert hung on with seven free throws each in the final quarter from junior identical twins Hanna and Haley Cavinder. Both made 7 of 8 in the quarter. That's what twins do.

Haley Cavinder finished with 19 points and Hanna Cavinder tallied 16. Fellow starters Brynn Wade and Stacy Hock contributed 11 points apiece. The Cavinders played despite missing workouts the last couple days due to illness. Both were having trouble catching their breath.

They'll get an extra three-plus days to get back to health before facing defending champion and No. 2  seed Valley Vista in Wednesday's semifinals at 3 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena. Valley Vista topped Pinnacle, 61-53, in their quarterfinal clash at Valley Vista.

No. 3 Gilbert (26-3) made 17 of 24 free throws in all in the fourth quarter to Hamilton's 10 of 14 to overcome the #11 Huskies bid at knocking off a second higher seed in as many outings in the tournament. Hanna Cavinder's two free throws with 1:09 left put Gilbert ahead to stay, 52-50. Hanna Cavinder made five more before the final buzzer and teammate Brynn Wade added two. Wade's final made free throw gave Gilbert the four-point lead it needed with 4.9 seconds left to advance to the semfiinals.

Perhaps the biggest play in the final two minutes was Wade knocking loose a rebound after Hanna Cavinder missed a free throw. The ball was grabbed by Hanna Cavinder. She was fouled and added two free throws to improve Gilbert's lead to 55-50 with 44 seconds left.

Gilbert is headed to the semis for the second year in a row. Hamiilton bowed out in the quarters for the second straight year, but not without an impressive run the second half of the season. Hamilton won 11 of 14 games once the calender flipped to January. They started no seniors and only two players with meaningful varsity time from last year.

"The last half of the season they showed they could compete with anybody," Gilbert coach Kyle Pedersen said. "What made the difference for us in the second half was defense and paying attention to the details."

Hamilton was led by junior Raelin Denning with 17 points. Denning scored 10 in the first period as Trevor Neider's Huskies showed they meant business building  a 17-12 lead after eight minutes. Gilbert didn't catch up until Haley Cavinder connected on a three with 10 seconds left to send the teams to intermission deadlocked at 24. 

Sophomore guard Tori Davis, who scored a career-high 30 points on Wednesday in Hamilton's victory over Desert Mountain, added 11 points.