SOUTH HADLEY — On a typical Tuesday evening, the only thing the occasional passerby can hear at The Boathouse Restaurant is the water lap against the shore.

But last Tuesday, the waterfront restaurant at Brunelle’s Marina boomed with cheering and laughing as 75 people packed the establishment to get a glimpse of a big flat screen showing the South Hadley High School girls basketball team win their first-ever state Div. 4 semifinal game against Tyngsborough, 53-42.

“It was awesome,” Boathouse Manager Grace Paulo said. “It was cool to have all different people from the community be here and be able to watch together and cheer on the girls.”

Paulo said five of the team members work at The Boathouse as support staff, so when a local mother jokingly asked if the restaurant would host a watch party of the latest away game in Worcester, Paulo took the request seriously. The restaurant served appetizers and drinks while tuning into Channel 15, South Hadley’s local access channel that records the games.

“I hope to do it in the future for all teams in South Hadley and Granby that make it that far,” she said.

Since the beginning of the year, South Hadley’s high school girls’ basketball team has been on a hot streak. The Tigers won 19 consecutive games, claiming the school’s first Western Mass. Class B crown two weeks ago and earning a spot in the MIAA Div. 4 semifinals. With that semifinal win in their pocket, the team is focusing their sights on another first: competing in the state finals against Cathedral of Boston on Sunday at noon at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.

And residents are rallying right behind them.

“It feels like there’s something special to the women’s sports in South Hadley. For these girls, a lot of them played on the soccer team and for them to have gone to the state finals there was a really fun, amazing experience,” Paul Cooney said. “My high school was very fortunate to go to the state finals once, and these girls have now been there twice in one year, so there is so much energy and enthusiasm behind the teams and so much excitement and pride in town.”

Cooney’s sixth grade daughter, Grace, enjoys watching the home games in the student section. She knows girls on the high school team from playing on the South Hadley St. Pat’s team in the Western Massachusetts Catholic Youth Organization Basketball League, where Tigers players Cara and Caitlin Dean’s father Sean Dean used to coach. Grace witnessed the Tigers’ hard work on the court and field in both basketball and soccer, and admires all the girls’ accolades.

“It’s exciting. They’ve just gotten so far, like from winning the Western Mass championship, and then now they’re the top two. So it’s just really fun to see them progress,” Grace said.

Townwide spirit for the high school’s athletics existed back when Jodie Lecca graduated from high school in 1977. She remembers the boys and girls basketball teams made it far in their respective seasons, and saluted the current team on its accomplishments.

“The high school athletics program is very impressive. They’ve always been competitive in sports,” she said. “The town is very supportive, even back then. We used to take the bus down to the games.”

While busing local fans to away games has gone out of style, town support and spirit for high school sports continues to grow. Mosier Elementary students Zoe and Caleb Ferguson noticed the crowded bleachers packed with cheering fans at the last home game they attended. The siblings tagged along with their mother and high school teacher Tara Cole Ferguson to almost every home game this season. Zoe commented on the Tigers’ strong teamwork, passing the ball around to every player regardless of ability or grade.

“[Drew Alley] is one of the seniors and she’s really popular on her team, but she also passed the ball and gives it to a lot of people so she’s not the only one shooting,” Zoe said.

Jenna Snyder, who brings her son to South Hadley and Smith basketball games, said the team knows how to bounce back mid-game when a contest isn’t going their way.

“They seem really cohesive, and when they get down, they seem to always find a way to come together and go on the scoring runs, and all sudden they just won the game,” she said.

Snyder, who moved to town a decade ago, started watching the high school basketball games this year when friends told her about the team’s accomplishments. Her son has recently become obsessed with basketball, and Snyder said he can’t take his eyes off the court, invested in every play and pass by the girls.

“A lot of locals in Granby or South Hadley were always going to games, or they know somebody’s kid on the team or whatever. So for us, we’re not from around here,” she said. “But to just go with your friends, check out a game and then see the success the team is having, it’s been really fun. Like you make a night of out it.”

Regardless of whether the team wins or loses in the finals, Cooney said the team’s success is a prime example of successful women’s sports programs available in town for his daughters.

“It feels like women’s sports have come so far, and as a dad, I’m thankful and I’m excited that my girls have such good role models,” he said.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.