During an eight-game regular-season stretch, Chaminade Julienne went 1-7. The gauntlet included road losses at Centerville, Fairborn, Alter, Carroll, Cincinnati McNicholas and Lima Bath. It also included a good measure of maturation.

“The whole time during that stretch we talked about how it was to get us better for tournament,” CJ head coach Mandy Myers said. “We were tired, we were frustrated … we felt every emotion.”

Said senior Krista White: “The coaches believed in us. They said even NBA teams lose big games on the road and in stretches.”

CJ advanced to its 16th straight sectional final Tuesday with a come-from-behind 54-47 win over Valley View in Division II postseason play at Springboro High School. The victory was the Eagles’ sixth straight since the midseason slide evened their record at a pedestrian 9-9.

CJ faces Bellbrook, a winner over Belmont, in Saturday’s sectional final (noon tip at Springboro). Valley View finishes 18-6.

The Eagles needed everything they had against the Spartans.

Valley View led 28-20 at half and 38-37 in the fourth quarter before CJ pulled away. The Eagles shot 24 fourth-quarter free throws (made 13) and held VV to 13 points through 15 minutes of second-half action.

White led all scorers with 17 points, while Brittany Jefferson and Ja’Cole Tabor chipped in 15 and 13. Hannah Collins led VV with 13.

Attention now turns to Bellbrook, a squad CJ knows well. The Eagles beat Bellbrook 45-29 on Dec. 17. That win avenged a 38-37 loss in last year’s regional semifinal.

The two meet for the third time in 11 months Saturday and for the third straight season in the tournament.

“They’re our tournament rival,” Myers said. “Both teams have a lot of kids that contributed in all those games. We’ve gotten a lot better since then and I know they have too.”