BETHEL — Bristol Central wasn’t going to be denied this time around.

After falling in the state semifinals a year ago, the Rams had some unfinished business to take care of. They did that by closing Tuesday’s CIAC Division II semifinal against Staples with a 10-4 run to punch their ticket to Mohegan Sun with a 67-62 win.

“For coach (Steve Gaudet), this is his first team to do it. It makes me so happy to do it with these girls,” said senior Nicole Riemer, who finished the game with 26 points. “It truly shows our character. We’re not going to back down. I’m just so proud of all of these girls.”

BC trailed 58-57 after a 3 from Staples’ Chloe Smith with 2:50 to play in regulation. After Riemer knocked down 1-of-2 from the line, she got a steal on the ensuing possession and layed the ball in to put the Rams up two.

Freshman Bria Rossi followed with a transition layup off a feed from Sydney Ray, and a Kamaria Bowens jumper made it 64-58 with 1:40 to play.

As usual, it was the BC (21-5) defense that led the way, especially late when they needed it the most.

“It feels great,” Ray said. “Last year we got here and we lost and we wanted this so badly. When we’re in close games, we need to be able to rely on each other and we were able to do that.”

After Molly McMahon made 1-of-2 from the line to make it 65-60, Riley Caney’s jumper made it 65-62 with 14 seconds to play.

Riemer was fouled with 9.2 seconds to play, calmly knocking down both, and the celebration was on for the Rams.

For Steve Gaudet, it was a proud, emotional moment, knowing just how hard his team worked to get to this point after last season’s heartbreak.

“Other than marriage and the birth of my kids, I’ve never felt like this,” Gaudet said. “It’s been a long 20-plus years. We just kept fighting and I’m so proud of these girls.”

It wasn’t easy against a Staples team that came in as the No. 3 seed and a record of 23-3.

The Rams led for most of the game, although the margin never reached double figures. BC took its biggest lead of the game, 43-35 on a putback from Riemer with 47.8 seconds to play in the third.

Chloe Smith, who matched Riemer with 26 points, scored four points over the final 33 seconds of the third quarter to make it 43-39 going to the fourth.

It was a frenetic final eight minutes that saw a combined 47 points scored.

McMahon hit a 3 to put BC up 48-42 40 seconds into the fourth, but the Wreckers answered with a 7-1 run to tie the game after a 3-point play from Caney. The junior came in averaging just 1.8 points per game, but kept Staples in it, especially in the first half, finishing with 17 points, by far a career best. Her previous season-high was seven points in a 60-37 win over McMahon on Jan. 9.

Gaudet also credited assistant coach Kyle Phelan for suggesting the Rams switch to a triangle-and-2 defense, which they did in the late stages of the game.

“My assistants do such a great job,” he said.

Bowens, who was held in check for much of the game, saved her best for the fourth quarter. Her bucket with 4:17 to play put the Rams up 54-51, and a McMahon steal led to a layup from Ray to make it 56-51.

“Syd Ray was unbelievable,” Gaudet said. “Gabby (Bernier) hit a big 3, Laylani (Cespedes), Bria, the three seniors (McMahon, Riemer and Bowens), Liv, they gave me everything. Nicole and Kamaria hit some big shots. It got a little helter-skelter there in the fourth quarter, but Molly and a couple others took control.”

A Smith 3 got Staples back within two, and after Cespedes made 1-of-2 from the line, Smith followed by making 1-of-2 of her own, and, after the Wreckers got a stop, Smith drained yet another 3 to put Staples up 58-57.

BC followed with its game-deciding run, a moment that was a year in the making.

“We’re just tough,” Riemer said. “We worked hard to be in the position we’re in. We just have that grit. For us, it was just about composure and staying focused.”

Riemer had seven points in the first quarter and a bucket from Ray made it 12-7 before Staples closed on a 7-2 spurt to tie the game at 14-14 going to the second.

A free throw from Smith to open the second quarter gave Staples its first lead of the game, 15-14, but Riemer scored the first eight BC points of the second to put them back up four, 22-18.

Another bucket from Ray and 3’s by McMahon and Bowens made it 31-25 before Caney drilled a jumper just before the first half buzzer to make it 31-27.

Bowens scored eight of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, while McMahon finished with nine and Ray eight for BC.

Freya Harvey was also in double figures for Staples with 10 points.

BC will meet No. 1 seed Rocky Hill, a 49-48 overtime winner over Enfield, in the state title game at Mohegan Sun on either Saturday or Sunday.

“It feels so great for our seniors,” Ray said. “We worked so hard to get to the ‘chip.”

The Rams have not faced Rocky Hill this season, but they did see Enfield in the CCC quarterfinals. The Rams led that game by as many as 10 in the third quarter before dropping a 51-50 heartbreaker. Gaudet said the loss could be a positive as long as his team was able to learn from it. It’s safe to say that they did.

“It means so much,” Gaudet said. “I enjoy this even when we weren’t winning (in previous years), but winning definitely makes it more fun. I know I’ve said it before and it sounds cliche, but we’re a family. We do all these things together just like a family.”

He also knew the loss in the semifinals last season, which ironically enough was against Bethel, would be fuel, especially for his three seniors.

“When you have leaders like that, I knew they would want this,” Gaudet said. “Everything happens for a reason.”

Bristol Central 14 17 12 24 — 67

Staples 14 13 12 23 —62

Sydney Ray 4 0-1 8; Leylani Cespedes 1 1-2 3; Olivia Louis 0 2-4 2; Kamaria Bowens 5 2-3 14; Gabby Bernier 1 0-0 3; Bria Ross 1 0-0 2; Nicole Riemer 11 4-9 26; Molly McMahon 3 1-2 9. Totals: 26 10-21 67.

Freya Harvey 4 1-3 10; Chloe Smith 8 8-11 26; Addie Talbott 1 1-2 3; Marly Belzer 0 1-2 1; Riley Caney 7 3-3 17; Emma Asiel 1 2-2 5. Totals: 21 16-23 62.

Three-point FGs: Bristol Central (5) — Bowens 2, McMahon 2, Bernier. Staples (4) — Smith 2, Asiel, Harvey.