Burlington Notre Dame found itself in the unusual position of needing a comeback -- and the third-ranked Nikes pulled it off.

Notre Dame overcame an 11-point second half deficit and beat No. 2 Janesville 65-58 to reach the Class 1A championship game.

The Nikes, who never played in the state tournament until last year, will face top-ranked Newell-Fonda in the title game at 6 p.m. Friday.

Notre Dame came in averaging 82 points a game and had put up 90 in a first-round victory over Adair-Casey. But Janesville kept the Nikes in check much of the way and led 37-26 when Victoria Leyh started the second half with a 3-pointer.

The Nikes then began taking the ball to the basket instead of settling for perimeter shots and started to chip away at the lead. They went ahead for the first time at 54-53 on Taylor Hickey's two free throws with 5:49 left and took the lead for on Hickey's pull-up jumper, which made it 58-56 with 3:16 to play.

With Notre Dame clinging to a one-point lead, Hickey made another big play, driving into the lane and finding Emily Salvador for layup, putting the Nikes up 61-58 with 1:17 remaining. After a Janesville turnover, Notre Dame's Riley Kilbride drilled a 3-pointer from the right side to make it 64-58 and the Nikes were on their way to the championship game.

Hickey finished with 18 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals to lead Notre Dame, now 23-3. Courtney Coffin scored 12 on four 3-pointers, Kilbride had 11 and Kori Mesecher scored 10 to go with eight rebounds.

Victoria Leyh led Janesville with 14 points, while Sorge and Brittany Hanson each scored 12. Sylvia Amlie contributed five points and 17 rebounds for Janesville, which won the state volleyball title last fall and finishes an outstanding basketball season with a 24-2 record and the school's first state tournament appearance.

No matter who wins Friday night, a first-time champion will be crowned. Notre Dame lost in the semifinals last year, while Newell-Fonda has four runner-up finishes at state but no titles