Plainfield — It was pretty evident early in the second half Saturday that the Stonington was determined to get the ball inside.

“You think so?,” Bears head coach Paulla Solar deadpanned.

Sophomore post Rory Risley scored 12 of her 19 points in the second half and added 16 rebounds as fifth-seeded Stonington continued its late season surge by battling back to knock off top-seeded Lyman Memorial, 48-38, in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II girls’ basketball tournament semifinals.

The Bears rarely took a shoot from the perimeter and instead got their points off layups, putbacks and from the free throw line.

“We needed to get the ball inside,” Risley said. “We needed to use our posts and our inside work around the basket and things like that.”

Stonington (11-11) will play second-seeded Windham in Tuesday’s 6 p.m. final at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Whippets edged No. 3 Plainfield, 38-37, in the first semifinal.

“I’m very excited,” Risley said, her eyes growing wide when asked about the chance to play at the Sun. “This is something that we worked for all season and it’s finally paying off.”

Stonington and Windham split their regular-season series. The Whippets won 57-38 on Jan. 30. The Bears won only three days later, 59-54.

Sophomore Emily Obrey had 10 points, four rebounds and four steals for Stonington and freshman Leah DePerry scored eight of her 10 points in the pivotal third period to help Stonington take the lead for good. She also had three steals and played strong defensively.

The Bears were 2-8 after a 78-28 loss to Bacon Academy on Jan. 17. That included a 44-40 loss to Lyman on Jan. 3.

“A lot of teams could have folded but the kids just kept coming back,” Solar said. “I’m just really proud of them because they’ve come so far and didn’t fold. Like anybody who’s (2-8), you might think, ‘Where’s this going?’ And we find ourselves here. That is all on the girls, though. That’s them sticking to it.”

Sophomore Jenny Lopez had 15 points and three steals for the Bulldogs (15-7) and classmate Phoebe Carpenter had 12 points and six rebounds. Senior Kassidy LaTour added 8 points, nine rebounds and 4 steals.

“Paulla is a phenomenal coach and (Stonington) did a great job,” Lyman head coach David Lopez said. “I knew that the second time around is always going to be harder. ... They didn’t turn the ball over and they pressured my girls very, very well.”

Stonington trailed 23-18 at the half and started the third with an 13-2 run. Senior MacKenzie Pettegrow (nine points) started it with a steal and layup and Risley had a putback.

Lopez made a layup for Lyman, but DePerry answered seconds with a rare long jumper for the Bears.

Risley kept the run going by making the first of two free throws to put Stonington ahead for good and added a putback.

DePerry followed moments later with back-to-back layups to give Stonington a 31-25 lead with 3 minutes, 56 seconds left in the third.

“We do talk a lot about (taking) higher percentage shots, so we’re a little different than other teams,” Solar said. “Maybe I’m old school but I like the low, inside game.”

n.griffen@theday.com