YAKIMA — The Zillah girls’ dream season inched one step closer to becoming the most successful in program history on Friday night with a 53-44 win over Lynden Christian in the Class 1A semifinals.

June Fiander led three Leopards in double figures with 16 points, while Addison Johnston added 13 and Angie Buck had 12 as second-seeded Zillah turned on the jets in the second half to earn its first title game appearance since 1976.

“This is what we have worked for all season, and we’re ready to take the next step tomorrow night,” said Buck, who led a 10-0 run late in the third quarter to help the Leopards pull away. “We set goals at the beginning of the season, and winning a state championship was the big one. And now we’re one step closer.”

Zillah, which placed fourth last season, advanced to Saturday’s championship game, where they will take on No. 1 seed King’s.

The Leopards (25-2) are understandably riding high after winning their 12th game in a row, and the players believe they have what it takes to claim the program’s first-ever state title.

“I feel like we can win it all,” said Johnston, the Leopards’ only senior starter. “I believe in this team so much, and I have all the confidence in the world in every one of these girls. We are ready to go out and get it done.”

Johnston and Buck both noted that they will be playing for their late head coach, Brandie Valadez, who passed away last summer after a long battle with cancer. The players are sure the matriarch of the Zillah girls basketball program has been looking down on them the entire season.

“We all have the same goal, and that’s to win a state championship and do it for Brandie Valadez,” Buck said.

“We’re definitely playing for Brandie,” Johnston added. “We know she’s proud of us right now.”

But Friday’s win over No. 3 Lynden Christian was by no means a foregone conclusion. The Leopards had to work for it all the way to the final buzzer.

The Lyncs grabbed and early 8-0 lead before Zillah responded with a 9-0 run of their own. Zillah led by one at the half, but fell behind by three after a 6-2 LC run to start the second half. That’s when the Leopards’ offense came alive.

Johnston helped Zillah reclaim the lead with five minutes remaining in the third and then Buck hit a key and-one and a 3-pointer to increase the lead to seven. Makenna Klitzke sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Zillah a nine-point advantage, and that was all she wrote.

“We just had to be patient and let it come together; just be smart on offense and not force anything,” Johnston said. “I think we did a great job of keeping our composure, and that’s what helped us finish it out.”