In its biggest game of the season to date, the team best known for its stingy defense wasted little time in showing it's capable of providing some offensive fireworks, too.

Scoring the first 10 points of the game, WPIAL champion Mt. Lebanon jumped on District 1 runner-up Cheltenham early and rolled to a 59-45 victory in a PIAA Class AAAA girls' basketball semifinal at Shippensburg University.

The win advances the Blue Devils (30-0) to Friday's 6 p.m. championship game against District 12 champion Cardinal O'Hara (27-2) at Penn State University's Bryce Jordan Center at 6 p.m.

The Blue Devils, who lost in last year's PIAA title game, will attempt to become only the second undefeated girls' team from the WPIAL to win the PIAA crown.

In the first half last night, an expected slugfest between a pair of defensive heavyweights turned into a one-sided offensive affair, as Mt. Lebanon blitzed Cheltenham (28-3) with an opportunistic defense that created turnovers and led to high-percentage shots offensively.

"We went up, 10-0, and it was like, 'Whoa!' " Mt. Lebanon coach Dori Oldaker said. "We just came flying out of the gates. The kids are playing with a lot of confidence right now. They are really focused."

Mt. Lebanon extended the advantage to 15-2.

Senior Emily Miller and sophomore Madison Cable combined to score 16 first-half points for Mt. Lebanon, which took a 31-17 halftime lead. The Blue Devils limited Cheltenham to 20 percent shooting (6 of 29) in the opening half, and held the Panthers without a point for the first seven minutes of the second quarter.

"We were having a hard time getting good looks," Cheltenham coach Bob Schaefer said. "They are very good defensively."

Cheltenham cut the deficit to nine twice in the second half, but were unable to get any closer.

Miller scored a game-high 17 points, and Cable chipped in 12 points and 14 rebounds. Jessica Babe added 12 and Chelsea Apke 10.

Monet Constant scored 13 points and Tiffany Johnson added 12 for Cheltenham, which was trying to reach the PIAA final for the third time in five seasons.

The Blue Devils shot 41 percent from the field (21 of 51), while holding the Panthers to 30 percent (17 of 55). The Panthers committed 26 turnovers.

"It was a great effort," Oldaker said. "We were really disciplined offensively and defensively."