The Muskegon Heights girls basketball team did it again.

On Tuesday the Tigers overcame a 15-point halftime deficit and defeated Martin by three points in the first round of the Division 3 regional tournament in Martin.

On Thursday they overcame a two-point first quarter and defeated Gobles 43-41 to win the first regional championship in the history of the program.

The Tigers, now 8-8 on the season, advance to the Division 4 state quarterfinals on Tuesday against Adrian Lenawee Christian at 7 p.m. at Gull Lake High School.

Muskegon Heights got off to a very slow start offensively, scoring only two points in the first quarter.

“We got here late, and the girls really didn’t have a chance to fully warm up,” said Muskegon Heights Coach Tyrie Johnson. “We were a bit lethargic in the first quarter.”

Luckily the Tigers also played very good defense in the first, holding Gobles to only six points.

“We hang out hats on our defense, and we let the offense take care of itself,” Johnson said.

The Tigers gained their winning margin in the second quarter, when they had a 12-7 advantage and took a 14-13 halftime lead, and the third quarter, when they outscored Gobles 15-12.

“We started running – we were a lot faster – and we got into the transition game a little more than they did,” Johnson said.

Gobles had a 16-12 edge iu the fourth quarter and made the game close, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the Tigers.

Aniea Johnson led Muskegon Heights with 19 points and Tyvenna Davis added 17.

Muskegon Heights is now is the state Final Eight despite having a sub .500 record in the regular season, and Coach Tyrie Johnson said he always the players had it in them.

“I knew they had the potential,” Johnson said. “Ever since this group was in eighth grade, I had a feeling. We just told them to go out there tonight and try to make history, and they did that.

“We’re excited, but we have to remain focused and take it one game at a time.”