The Dartmouth High girls basketball team is heading to the postseason for the first time in several years, after a win over Apponequet in an all-or-nothing game on Feb. 19.

After the first half of the Indians’ final home game of the regular season, the Indians held a two-point lead over their opponent, but came into the second half and quickly dominated, securing a nearly 15 point lead in several minutes.

Apponequet could not match it, and the Indians took the win 56-38.

The win brought the Indians’ record to 8-11 overall, and secured the team its first postseason run in several years under the MIAA’s Sullivan Rule. It was the Indians’ final shot to earn a spot in the state tournament.

“You never want to have your backs to the wall, but ours was today,” said Head Coach Scott Richards. “We needed to win the game to make it into the state tournament, and the girls responded. They’re a tough group of kids.”

The win coincided with the team’s final home game of the regular season, and Senior Night. Teammates honored their two seniors, Bridget McCabe and Lauryn Coelho.

“We were all really excited about the season,” Coelho said. “We started off really rocky but at the end we’ve been pulling out some wins. I think we’ve really upped the ante lately in the past few games.”

The biggest excitement of the night, both Coelho and McCabe noted, came from making the postseason for the first time.

“It was crazy,” McCabe said of the win. “We weren’t supposed to win this game. They were the No. 2 in seed.”

Although brackets won’t be released until later in the week, Richards said Dartmouth will be at the bottom of the seeding ranks, making the team’s postseason run a challenge.