The Pine Bush girls’ basketball team got a welcome surprise when the Section 9 Class AA tournament brackets were released last week.

The Bushmen were rewarded for their strong season, which saw them win 11 games and finish second in the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division II with the No. 4 seed giving them a home game against the Our Lady of Lourdes Warriors, despite the Warriors’ better record.

However, the Warriors proved the better team, breaking away from the Bushmen in the second quarter on their way to a 74-52 sectional quarterfinal victory on Saturday at Pine Bush High School.

“If they could play four quarters of basketball consistently at their best play, we’ll be winning games,” Pine Bush coach Michelle Bouffard said. “It’s just what happens with this team. They come out in the second half once they get behind, they have to get a little fire in them.”

Unlike most teams, the Bushmen did have answer for the Warriors’ top scorer, Simone Pelish, who led the warriors with a team-high 31 points.

“Simone’s a really good player,” Bouffard said. “She knows when to drive. She knows when to shoot and she knows when to dish. She sees the floor well. You can’t take anything away from her.”

Jackie Kozakiewicz added 12 points and Kayla Johannesen added 10 points for the Warriors, who were scheduled to face the top-seeded Warwick Wildcats on Tuesday at Warwick Valley High School.

Pine Bush junior Jah-esa Stokes went toe-to-toe with Pelish, scoring a game-high 32 points. She got most of her points on the inside, but also knocked down three 3-pointers.

“I feel bad for her, but I’m glad she ended this way because she really struggled with health issues during the year,” Bouffard said. “She really did have a good, solid season, so it was good for her to end that way.”

Ketura Rutty added 14 points for the Bushmen, who took a large step forward this season. Bouffard said the team needs to get out of the mindset of being a young team.

“In their mind, we’re young so we’re not supposed to be as good,” Bouffard said. “I just said to them, ‘that’s it; there’s no more of that. Next year, you’re juniors now. You’re over that hump. You can’t think that way any more.”

Stokes and Rutty had the inside game covered on Saturday, but Pine Bush struggled from outside. Stokes knocked down three 3-pointers, but Laticia Watson, normally a reliable outside shooter didn’t convert, so Pine Bush is going to work on additional options from long range during the offseason.

“They’re such a close group,” Bouffard said. “They’re fun to watch. Now they’ve learned that they can hang with the good teams. As they were younger, some good teams are losing some big-time players and guess who’s coming in.”