After trailing by double digits going into halftime, the Regina Saddlelites clawed their way back within four points, trailing the Country Day Yellowjackets 43-39 late in the third quarter of their Division 2 regional semifinal game on Monday.

Then, DCD’s Naiya Krispin nailed three-straight 3-pointers as part of an 11-0 run to close out the quarter, ballooning a four-point deficit into 15, setting Country Day up for a 66-49 victory over Regina to clinch a spot in Wednesday’s regional championship at Croswell-Lexington High School.

Regina had been making the most of the minutes where Country Day star Cece Arico wasn’t on the floor. The sophomore had poured in 18 points in the first half but landed awkwardly, forcing her to sit for much of the third quarter.

So when Krispin’s triples pushed the Saddlelites from close to not-so-close going into the fourth quarter, Regina felt like they had the air punched out of them.

“You saw it — because we dominated the quarter, and then nine-straight points,” said Regina head coach Joe Charrette. “And here you are, back to where you (were). Yeah, that was deflating. Hey, hats off to her. She knocked all three down. You know, they made shots down the end and, you know, your hats off to them.”

The outburst was part of Krispin’s 14 point night, third-most among DCD players.

“Huge,” said Country Day head coach Amber Deane. “When she’s shooting like that, which is common, she can shoot the ball — it just opens up so much more for us. It gives us some energy. We play with more passion. We play with more excitement. She makes it fun.”

The Yellowjackets scored the first eight points of the game but Regina answered with an 8-2 run and trailed by five after the first quarter. Then Arico and junior Jayla Jackson combined for 20 points in the second quarter to boost their lead to 11 at halftime.

Arico scored all 18 of her points in the first half while Krispin had 12 in the second. Jackson, who led the team with 21, was consistent across all four quarters.

Country Day had been waiting all season for this game after losing in the regional semifinals to eventual Division 2 champion Detroit Edison last season.

Arico, whose mother, Kim, is the head coach of the Michigan women’s basketball team, was especially locked in.

“She loves those moments,” Keane said of the sophomore. “She loves games like this. She loves when, kind of, the moment is big, she just meets it and surpasses it. She loves stuff like this, and that’s why she came out there and was the way she was in that first half.”

The Yellowjackets and Saddlelites had already met once this season when DCD won 75-53 in both teams’ first game of 2025. It was the first game Regina played without their best player, Ella Sikorski, who suffered a season-ending injury.

The growth between then and Monday, according to both coaches, has been significant.

“They’ve gotten a lot better,” Keane said. “They’re young. They’re gonna be scary to see for the next couple of years. They got good guard play, they got a couple solid post players, and they just play a good brand of basketball. … And you know, for that to be our first regional game is awesome. So credit to them. They’re a great team.”

Freshman guard Emersen Holder scored 21 points in the loss. Sara Wilking had 12, Jailyn Houth had nine, Sam Thomas scored five and Megan Grzywacz scored two.

Charrette made sure his players know what they mean to him.

“That’s what I just told them — I’ll never forget the resiliency and reinventing ourselves and sticking by what I’m doing,” he said. “It says a whole lot about that locker room. I love this team.”

Regina will graduate seniors Sikorski, Wilking, Sofia Switalski and Grzywacz.

And with the amount of youth returning — this year’s Regina roster had four freshmen, five sophomores and three juniors — the hope is that Monday’s game serves as an example for them.

“This is going to be a great learning experience for my young kids,” Charrette said. “I just told them in the locker room, we’re going to learn from this. And now we know what it takes, and that’s a learning process. You don’t just come out in big-time games and big-time programs and you know, here we are. You’re only going to learn from it. And these kids are gym rats, which I’m excited about.”

Country Day will put their season back on the line on Wednesday, March 12 back at Croswell-Lexington against the 22-3 Blue Water Area Conference co-champion Yale Bulldogs, who beat Armada 52-41 in the second game of the evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

“We couldn’t wait for March, and it’s here, and hopefully we’re peaking at the right time and stay a little healthier,” Keane said. “And yeah, we keep playing: Surviving and advance.”