SILVER SPRING — Wednesday’s Class 2A girls basketball state semifinal between Hereford and Frederick Douglass was something of a rock fight — two of Maryland’s best defenses looking to out-press one another to earn the right to play for a state title.

Though shots weren’t falling for either side, plenty of passes were picked. Charges were called and loose balls were pounced upon, even if a defenseless pair of knees stood in the way.

That wasn’t necessarily the kind of game Hereford envisioned for itself entering the state semis, even though the Bulls hung their hat on their defense to that point.

They weren’t exactly lighting Montgomery Blair High School’s gym on fire to start the game, but sustained a major blow early when backup center Gabby Viscuso hit the deck with an apparent leg injury in the first quarter.

Back in stepped starting big Shea Kanning, who went on to carry second-seeded Hereford to a 36-29 win off of her 18-point performance.

Third-seeded Douglass could only watch as Manning dominated as a downhill finisher and turnaround jump-shot artist, pouring in buckets on a night when the rest of her short-handed team struggled to compete on offense.

“Next one up is what we have to do when things get in our way,” Hereford coach Ray Burrows said. “The other thing was one of our bigs was out sick today, she has strep throat, but everybody stepped up. We found a way, and we go [on to play] Saturday.”

The Bulls (19-4) play Francis Scott Key at 2 p.m. Saturday for the Class 2A state championship at University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center.

Viscuso, ruled out before eventually returning to the Hereford bench in tape and ice packs, could only watch as her teammates missed countless open jumpers and layups across a rocky first half.

Burrows, for his part, drew up several out of bounds plays and half court sets to free his girls up for clean looks at the basket. The Bulls passed around the perimeter, cut from the baseline and thrust post entry passes into Kanning’s mitts, but his “rattled” players couldn’t seem to find the bottom of the net in the first half, turning the ball over relentlessly against the Eagles’ own hard-nosed defense.

“I think they were just a little nervous,” he said. “Shea’s a sophomore. She’s had a phenomenal second half of the season. She just needed to calm down.”

Douglass, which took considerably fewer shots due to their inferior rebounding and their own turnover woes, put Hereford in a 16-9 hole nearing the halfway point after a pair of 3-pointers.

Kanning spearheaded a 9-0 run to start the third quarter in response, scoring six in that span with her unmatched size and soft touch.

“That was awesome,” she said. “Obviously, credit to my guards for being able to get the ball inside, being able to trust me with the ball inside, and also being there for the kick out. My guards do a really good job of reading the floor, and with what the matchups were, it was helpful to have me posting up inside.”

That token defense that helped keep them alive earlier in the game remained, forcing several Douglass turnovers under its own basket. They flung the ball out of bounds and fed passes right into ready Hereford defenders, falling victim to a lot of the same traps the Bulls themselves had to get past.

Douglass kept it close in the second before meeting its undoing in the closing minutes, when its lack of a Kanning-stopper really showed.

Quick, physical double teams could only do so much as the center left her fingerprints all over the offense, and their defense shut the door on any crunch-time responses.

“In our first half, of course, our shots weren’t falling, but our defense … being able to talk and communicate, that is our strongest asset as a team,” Kanning said.

The Bulls have held opponents to 27 points per game this season, and they marked another victim in the Eagles, who scored 63 in their previous game to advance to the semis.

“My kids are amazing, they do anything I ask them to do, and they work hard,” the glowing coach said. “We’ve come a long way this year, and we have one more to go.”

Have a news tip? Contact sports editor Tim Schwartz at timschwartz@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/timschwartz13.