By Rich McGowan, Mlive Media Group

HUDSON — As Sarah Thompson made her way to the free throw line, her teammates began to gather at halfcourt. With just 5.6 seconds to play and leading by five points, the Manchester Flying Dutch began to hug and celebrate, the program’s first girls basketball Class C regional championship only moments away.

Thompson sank her two free throws, the remaining seconds ticked off the clock, the Manchester side of the gym erupted and the celebration was officially on with a 58-51 victory over Adrian Madison.

“They all started hugging and I was like, ‘The game isn’t over yet,’” said senior McKenna Erkfritz. “As soon as she made that free throw it was a huge relief. It was unbelievable. I was so happy.”

With the victory, Manchester (24-1) moves on to the Class C state quarterfinal, Tuesday night in Jonesville at 7 p.m. where it meet Niles-Brandywine (24-0).

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“I was speechless,” said senior Taylor Manders of the early celebration. “I hugged my sister first and she said ‘I’m so proud of you’ and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Only a few minutes earlier, the Flying Dutch victory was anything but assured.

Madison closed out the third quarter in thrilling fashion. Haley Mellon swished an NBA-range 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded giving her team a 41-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter, and Manchester, which had rolled to lopsided victories throughout the season, found itself in the strange position of trailing entering the final period.

“Playing from behind isn’t something we’re familiar with,” said Manchester coach Cori Kastel. “To see them overcome and play through it and come out on top like they did tonight shows a lot of character.”

Manchester went to work. Erkfritz scored a pair of baskets in the first 40 seconds of the fourth quarter. A minute later, Manders drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 43 with more than six minutes to play.

The game was tied with 1:22 left on the clock when sophomore Jessie Manders hit a pair of free throws to give the Flying Dutch the lead it would never relinquish. The free throws were Manders’ only points of the night as she missed a large part of the second half after she suffered an injury. Manders’ arm was pinned between her body and the floor when a Madison player fell on top of her early in the third quarter.

“Every game it seems like she gets hurt but she toughs it out and comes back in the game, which we needed.” Taylor Manders said of her sister. “She’s an important part of our team.”

Manchester, which struggled at times shooting, including several missed fast breaks and layups, was automatic from the free throw line. The Flying Dutch connected on 19-of-22 from the line (86 percent), including 9-10 in the fourth quarter. Madison, on the other hand, was just 2-of-8 for the night.

Taylor Manders finished with a game-high 23 points, including an 8-for-8 performance from the free throw line and nine points and two assists in the fourth quarter.

Erkfritz scored 15 points to go with 10 rebounds and six steals. Manchester’s defense was quick and aggressive all night, forcing 30 Trojan turnovers. Jesse Coltre had five steals and Maddie Collins had eight points.

“It wasn’t easy. Manchester plays great defense,” said Madison coach Rick McNeil. “We moved the ball, we found the open player and got some perimeter shots to fall and Ashley Bussing did a great job inside.”

Bussing led Madison in scoring with 14 points while Shayla Villarreal added nine.

“It’s awesome,” Kastel said moments after accepting the regional championship trophy. “Just looking back at where we started when I took over the program seven years ago, and the baby steps we’ve taken every season. With this group of seniors we’ve taken the biggest jump and definitely this was our time.”