AMHERST - Brianna Del Valle soared through the air, drew a foul and made the fast-break layup.

As she fell to the ground, all the momentum had swung to the Belchertown girls basketball team late in the third quarter of Tuesday's Western Massachusetts Division 2 Tournament semifinal at Curry Hicks Cage.

When she didn't get up, it all went away.

Del Valle headed to the bench in a tie game with a bad cut on her knee and pain running up and down her leg. She was only off the court for 1 minute, 21 seconds of playing time, but the Orioles never again felt in control.

Monument Mountain enjoyed a 5-0 run with Del Valle dealing with the trainer and the game was never tied again as the defending sectional champions earned the 46-38 win.

"It was so hard to have to sit there, especially after making what could have been a big play," said Del Valle, who still finished with a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds. "When I came back in, I just tried to put it out of my mind and focus on the game, but it really hurt a lot."

Del Valle's return helped No. 7 Belchertown (15-8) get back into the game, as the junior forward scored two straight baskets to cut the deficit to one heading into the fourth quarter.

But Spartan senior Alyssa Nejaime, who led Berkshire County in 3-pointers made this season, knocked down a pair from behind the arc to open the fourth and put the game away.

No. 3 Monument (16-6) advances to the sectional final at the Cage on at 2 p.m. Saturday. The other finalist will be decided at 6:30 tonight in the other semifinal at the Cage between No. 4 Wahconah and No. 1 Palmer.

"There's no shame in losing to the defending champions here," Belchertown second-year coach Jason Woodcock said. Referring to his players, he added, "I'm so proud of them. They worked so hard."

It was the second straight year the Orioles lost in the semifinals, as Wahconah beat them on free throws with no time remaining at the Cage last year.

"You think it isn't going to (live up to the memories of last year) when you are going back (to the Cage), but when you get here and see the court and the crowd and everything, it's really everything I remember it was from last year," Del Valle said.

"It's so much fun playing here and we'll be trying again to get here next year."

Belchertown seniors Olivia Pare, Hannah Aponte, Alicia Stenuis, Colleen Grady and Laura Belanger played their last high school games. "We will really miss this senior class," Woodcock said. "Some of them played more than others, but they all contributed. We got here because of our hard work in practice and every one of them was key there."

Pare, a four-year member of the varsity, was the emotional leader in her time with the Orioles.

"She's going to be incredibly difficult to replace," Woodcock said. "Bri is our leading scorer, obviously, but Olivia was our heart. The kids fed off her and played hard for her."

Pare, who remembers her freshman year when Belchertown went 1-19, is proud to be leaving the program with two straight trips to the Cage.

"I remember our freshman year, our motto the whole season was #Don't stop believing' and we kept that motto throughout all four years," she said. "It was that attitude that helped us turn things around and get here twice."

Belchertown's defense took control early in the contest, forcing nine first-quarter turnovers and allowing just two field goals en route to a 10-7 lead at the first break.

But Monument returned the favor in the second, forcing 11 second-quarter turnovers # including five straight to start the frame # and took a 21-18 lead into halftime. "I really think we lost the game in the first half," Woodcock said. "We missed so many makeable shots and had too many turnovers."

Even worse, Del Valle picked up her third foul with 42.4 seconds left in the half. "That definitely changed the way I could play" in the second half, Del Valle said. "I had to hold back some because I knew I'd be on the bench with one more foul."

Del Valle will enter her senior season with 739 career points, while Pare leaves with 433.

"Our goal was to make it back to the Cage," Pare said. "But I always dreamed of a championship. Even though we didn't get a championship, this was an amazing year and I'm so proud to have been a part of this team for four years."

Jim Pignatiello can be reached at jpignatiello@gazettenet.com.