A huge run before halftime helped propel North Wilkes to the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A girls basketball state championship game on Thursday evening.

The Vikings defeated East Burke 60-36 in the western regional championship game at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

North WIlkes took a 15-12 lead into the second quarter, then held East Burke to just two points as it extended its lead to 33-14 by halftime.

Meredith Tomko hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter and two more in the second quarter, leading the Vikings with 14 points at halftime. Ralee Bare scored seven more points in the second quarter, and North Wilkes ended the half on a 15-0 run.

Kara Brinkley ended the run immediately at the start of the third quarter with a lay-up, and East Burke found some offense. Braelyn Stilwell hit back-to-back 3-pointers, but the Cavaliers couldn’t get enough stops on the defensive end.

North Wilkes led 48-31 going into the fourth quarter.

North Wilkes went four minutes in the fourth quarter without scoring a point, but East Burke only managed two points of its own during that time. Stilwell fouled out of the game with 4:10 left, hampering any hopes of a Cavaliers comeback.

Ralee Bare hit a free throw with 2:17 left to extend North WIlkes’ lead to 20 points for the first time, and the Vikings rolled into the state championship game. The largest lead for North Wilkes was 24 points.

East Burke shot nearly 40% from 3-point range during the season, but on Thursday the Cavaliers were 6-of-32, shooting just 18.8% from 3-point range in the loss.

Tomko finished the game with 21 points to lead all scorers. Ralee Bare scored 13 points for the Vikings and Kaykay Kinder finished with 10. Shalyn Bare was not in double-figures for points, scoring nine points in the game, but she did pull in 17 rebounds.

East Burke was led in scoring by Brinkley’s 18 points. She also recorded 11 rebounds to post a double-double. Stilwell finished with 10 points.

North Wilkes will make its second appearance in a girls basketball state championship game. The Vikings lost in the 2018 cahmpionship to North Pitt.

Awaiting North Wilkes in Saturday’s state championship is Southeast Alamance, which beat Seaforth in the eastern regional championship game on Thursday afternoon.

East Burke’s season ends with a record of 30-2.