ALCONA - Mar. 3, 2010 - Alcona's girls basketball team made sure that its Class C "traveling district" would stay right at home.

The Tigers used their advantage inside to pull away to a 47-33 victory over Whittemore-Prescott in Wednesday's semifinal, setting up Friday's championship contest with Rogers City.

W-P, heavily dependent on guards Emily Forton and Jordan Maxwell for their scoring, was at a further disadvantage with Maxwell out sick. Alcona focused its defense on Forton, holding her to just four points, but the Cardinals managed to stay in the game until the fourth quarter.

The Cards trailed 18-10 at halftime but pulled close in the third quarter as Staci Ostrander scored six of her game-high 12 points, and Forton and Ali Bronson each hit 3-pointers.

A 10-0 Alcona run in the fourth quarter was the key to the Tigers pulling away. Alcona hit 9-of-14 free throws in the fourth quarter.

"I give W-P a ton of credit," said Alcona coach Dan O'Connor. "They played tough and very physical despite being a little undersized and playing without Maxwell. Their pressure kept them in the game but we battled through a lull in the third quarter."

Carolyn Miller, Megan Miller, Phebie Mier and Sarah Hart controlled the paint, with Carolyn Miller putting up 23 points and pulling down 23 rebounds.

"(She) was outstanding," O'Connor said. "It was extremely physical and the kids played through it and didn't get frustrated."

O'Connor credited Meaghan Olger and Caitlin McNichols for their defensive effort on Forton.

"They don't always put up big numbers," O'Connor said. "But they do so much more for our team than what shows up in the scorebook."

Amelia Oliver and Alexa Lecureux each added seven points for Alcona (10-11).

Ostrander's 12 points and Cortney Bork's six led W-P, which finishes at 5-16.

The geographically huge Class C District 91 tournament, unlike most others, is being played at multiple sites to reduce travel costs, but Alcona was guaranteed home court advantage if it continued to win. Whittemore-Prescott would have hosted the championship contest with a victory.