The Marlboro Dukes stumbled into the Section 9 Class A tournament after ending the regular season on Friday with a 70-50 loss to the Wallkill Panthers in a non-league girls’ basketball game at Wallkill Senior High School.

“The starters didn’t come out to play,” Marlboro coach Matt Murphy said. “There’s no mental toughness there. It’s a shame, but that’s the fact.”

It was the second straight loss to a good Mid Hudson Athletic League team. The MHAL Division II champion Dukes lost, 70-47, at home on Feb. 19 to the Our Lady of Lourdes Warriors in the MHAL semifinals.

The Warriors went on to win the championship with a win over the Division III champion Highland Huskies.

Hannah Polumbo led the Dukes with 17 points and Gabby Murphy added 10. Zoe Mesuch led the Panthers with a game-high 37 points. Alex Dembinsky scored 11.

The Dukes hung with the Panthers for the first quarter, trailing, 22-19, at the end of the period. However, the Panthers outscored Dukes 23-6 in the second quarter to take command of the game.

The Panthers led the Dukes, 45-25, at halftime. When the teams headed for the locker room, Mesuch had 26 points on her own.

With the Dukes trailing by about 20 points for most of the second half, coach Murphy had a chance to rotate in his subs and JV call-ups.

“They showed a lot of grit, a lot of determination and communication,” he said. “They played hard and were playing for each other. That’s what we’ve been talking about these last couple of weeks. Again, people don’t want to do it.”

The Dukes had five days to right the ship as they earned the top seed in the Section 9 Class A tournament and will host the winner the Feb. 26 game between the No. 5 Port Jervis Raiders and the No. 4 Saugerties Sawyers.

The Dukes posted a 46-30 win over the Sawyers on Jan. 26.

“A home game should be good,” coach Murphy said. “Hopefully, we will get a good crowd and help them to show up and play.”

The winner of Thursday’s game will clinch a berth in Friday’s Section 9 Class A championship game against the winner between No. 3 Beacon and No. 2 Red Hook.

The Dukes split their two games against Red Hook. Beacon suffered two losses to the Panthers.

“I was a little surprised (at getting the No. 1 seed),” coach Murphy said. “Honestly, I didn’t know how the whole seedings went in the section and the points and all that, but I was surprised. And obviously, it’s a gift. The basketball gods are looking down on us, but at the same time, you’ve got to perform, and you’ve got to show up on the day.”