BINGHAMTON—The Milford girls basketball team nearly erased a 13-point fourth quarter deficit, but their comeback fell just short in a 41-34 loss to Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton in the Section Four Class D semifinals at the Broome County Arena Tuesday night.

The loss ends the second seeded Wildcats season at 17-4, and the victory for the Raiders avenged a loss to Milford in the Tri-Valley Championship Game Feb. 17.

"We just didn't shoot the ball well tonight, and we were turning the ball over and giving them some fast break points," Milford head coach Jim Weir said. "We let (G-MU point guard) Shelly Miles get out on the fast break and we couldn't stop her."

Miles scored 23 of the Raiders' 41 points, most on lay-ups, while Milford eighth grader Shannon Weir kept the Wildcats in the game with 21 points, including the first nine of the game.

"Nobody us stepped up for us on the offensive end," Weir said.

Two of Milford's starters, Brianne Staggs and Jamie Beisler, were in foul trouble throughout the game, while Milford center Kristin Strong was held to half her season scoring average of 14 points by G-MU's 6'0" center Michelle Hueth.

After a slow first quarter that saw G-MU take a 4-2 edge, the Raiders steadily pulled away, holding a 16-11 halftime edge which grew to 26-16 after three quarters of play.

After Miles hit two free throws in the fourth quarter to give the Raiders a 30-17 edge, Shannon Weir started the comeback with a three-point basket.

"On a big court like this, you worry about getting tired and can't press all game long, but we pressed in that fourth quarter and it was effective," Weir said.

Shannon Weir hit two free throws with 43 seconds left to cap a 15-5 run which pulled Milford to within 36-32, but after G-MU missed two foul shots Hueth grabbed an offensive rebound and made a short jumper to put the game out of reach.

The Wildcats also missed 14-21 foul shots which hurt their comeback bid.

Milford advanced to the semifinals with a 56-52 victory over Laurens in a quarterfinal game at Milford Friday night. The victory avenged a three-point loss to the Leopards during the regular season.

Beisler had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the offense, while Weir also had 17 points and Staggs 11 points and 10 rebounds.

"We went from 6-11 last year to 17-4 this year, so we had a great season and I'm proud of our kids," Jim Weir said.