WEST BLOOMFIELD >> Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest booked a return trip to the Breslin Center with a 35-19 win over Sandusky in the Division 3 quarterfinals on Tuesday night.

“We definitely knew that it was not going to be an easy game,” Crusaders senior tri-captain Bella Tuskowski said. “But the bench, the starters, literally everyone gave 100%, and we’re super excited for the Final Four and going to the Breslin.”

It was a defensive battle from the start. Both teams labored while trying to manufacture points early as the defenses dominated the game almost from the opening tip. However, the Crusaders broke out the press and fractured the Sandusky offense with it. The Wolves turned the ball over regularly and often struggled to even get the ball across half-court without fumbling it away to the Crusaders.

“We’ve kind of being do that all year. We like to get the tempo, like to get our defense going,” Crusaders head coach Jimmy Mehlberg said.

Offensively, Lutheran Northwest would find just enough firepower to win each quarter, even if it was only by a few points.

“We didn’t shoot many outside shots, but we did what we had to do, just locked in on defense, and took it one quarter at a time tonight,” Mehlberg said. “We knew they (Sandusky) were going to be ready, and (we) just wanted to win one quarter at a time.”

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Lutheran Northwest led by 12 and had firm control of the game. Addie Troska led the Crusaders with 12 points. Paige Macavage added nine points and Keaira Spiehs finished with eight points for Lutheran Northwest.

The Crusaders (20-6) beat Sandusky last year in the quarterfinals to make it to the semifinals for the first time in program history.

“It feels amazing honestly to be able to do it two years in a row, and to also be up against the same opponent that we played last year and to do it twice, it’s an unbeatable feeling,” said Lutheran Northwest senior tri-captain Ashley Cadicamo.

Last season, the Crusaders met eventual champion Ypsilanti Arbor Prep in that semifinal, and it did not go well for them. But this will be a new year with a new opponent — Calumet.

And they hope that their experience last year will help them this year.

“Now that we’ve been there before, we kind of know what to expect compared to last year.

“We had never been there. Our school had never been there,” said Morgan Griswold, another Crusaders senior tri-captain.

Calumet, the state’s northernmost high school, is the only newcomer to this year’s Division 3 Final Four from last year’s quartet.

Arbor Prep beat Niles Brandywine 33-30 in last year’s D3 title game. Those two teams will face each other in Thursday’s other semifinal.

“Our goal at the end of the year last year, and the beginning of this year, we wanted to get back to where we were last year,” Mehlberg said.

“That was the first time ever in school history. Now, we want to act like we deserve to be there. Anything can happen on Thursday. Everybody deserves to be there.

“So, we’ve just got to come out, try to play a good game, and maybe get a win on Thursday,” Mehlberg said.