What a comeback! Foxboro girls overtake Hingham.

They were down by 12, they were in serious foul trouble and things were looking bleak for the Foxboro High School girls’ basketball team.

Foxboro’s Lizzy Davis (14) starts the offense
in the Division 2-South title game against Hingham.

But they found the resolve within themselves to start a comeback, one basket and one possession at a time, and the result was a 57-50 triumph over Hingham for the MIAA Division 2-South sectional championship Saturday at Taunton High.

The Warriors, No. 2 seed in the section, outscored No. 4 Hingham 18-13 in the third quarter after seeing the Harborwomen’s lead grow to 12 points in the first five minutes of the second half.

“They showed what senior leadership is all about,” said Foxboro coach Lisa Downs after the game, a statement of the obvious that is entirely valid in this instance.

Foxboro seniors Lizzy Davis, Abby Hassman and Shakirah Ketant (as well as junior Jordyn Collins) played much of the second half with four fouls apiece, yet none of them fouled out. And how impressive was it when, with time running out, Hingham guard Ryley Blasetti launched herself into Davis trying to draw a desperation foul, only to have Davis stand steadfastly in place and draw her third charging call of the game.

That’s heart.

Hingham controlled the pace of the game early, but Foxboro had one edge in strategy that would prove crucial at game’s end. Either Yara Fawaz or Collins were entrusted with the responsibility of shadowing 5-foot-2 senior guard Grace Bennis, and they were so successful at it, they virtually removed Bennis from the game.

The high-scoring Bennis had only one basket — a three-pointer that beat the halftime buzzer — and the defense was so effective, the only 1,000-point scorer in Hingham history didn’t even have her looks.

For a while, other Harborwomen stepped up. Perry Blasetti (14 points) threw in a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter as Hingham led 14-11. Then in the second, forward Jessica Johnson scored three uncovered layups as the lead increased to four points on Bennis’ last three.

Senior Ryley Blasetti, who was also doing a great job of denying Foxboro’s Katelyn Mollica her open looks from the perimeter, converted a three-point play and another layup early in the third quarter as Hingham built the double-digit lead. But it was becoming obvious as the quarter continued that the Harborwomen were uncomfortable playing with Bennis as locked-down defensively as she was. Their shot selection was questionable at best and their accuracy suffered as a result.

Ketant (13 points, eight rebounds) and Fawaz (11 points) scored late in the quarter and Mollica hit a clutch three after a rebound and quick pass to the corner by Davis, and suddenly, any trepidation the Warriors may have been feeling was replaced by a steely resolve.

In the fourth quarter, as the fouls finally started to even out, Foxboro’s free-throw shooting was clutch. As a team, they shot 9-for-10, with Davis hitting four big ones early on (she was 8-for-8 in the game) and Mollica throwing in four when Hingham resorted to strategic fouling with hopes of reversing Foxboro’s growing lead. It didn’t work; Foxboro finished the game 20-24 at the charity stripe.

Mollica finished with 17 points to bring her growing career total to 1,186.

The Warriors will now play in their third North-South semifinal in the last four years against North Reading (16-8), a 41-36 upset winner over Pentucket at the Tsongas Center in Lowell. The game will be Wednesday (5:30 p.m.) at the TD Garden.