CLAYTON — Anna got a reminder in the first quarter on Tuesday what tournament play is like. The reminder was all it needed.

After a slow start, Anna dominated the rest of the way and beat National Trail 61-33 in a Division III sectional semifinal on Tuesday at Northmont High School’s Thunderdome.

The No. 7 seed Rockets (14-9) advance to face No. 13 Valley View (10-12) in a sectional final at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Northmont.

It’s a quick turnaround for Anna, which won’t play again for a week if it’s victorious on Thursday.

“Back at it in 48 hours,” Anna coach Nate Barhorst said. “We’ve got to be ready. They’re tough.”

National Trail built an early 10-4 lead, but after a timeout, the Rockets closed the gap to 14-10 by the end of the quarter and blasted off in the second. Senior guard Trey Heitkamp scored 13 points to help Anna amass a 33-23 halftime lead.

“We just talked again in the locker room (after the game) that we can’t take any team for granted,” Barhorst said. “We found out their best player (Logan Smith) wasn’t playing tonight, and I think some of our guys took it as, ‘Well, this is going to be a cakewalk.’

“We can’t sit there and take any team for granted. In the second half, after we talked about it in the locker room (at halftime), we focused our energy and understood, ‘Hey, let’s go to it now, let’s play our style, no matter who’s out there.’”

Anna outscored the Blazers 17-6 in the third and 11-4 in the fourth.

Part of the turnaround was Anna increasing its full-court pressure and forcing turnovers.

“Game in and game out, we’re always battling against tough, physical teams,” Barhorst said. “We’ve been a half court team of just trying to keep teams out of the gut and playing good physical, man defense. This is a little bit different style of team, different style of ball than we’re used to.

“We had to make some adjustments there and realize we can still be aggressive getting the hand in the passing lanes, but at the same time, you’re still not letting your guy get by you.”

Anna has relied on a balanced effort all season, with different players stepping up each game.

Heitkamp, who was named first team all-Shelby County Athletic League last week, led things on Tuesday. He scored 22 points, while sophomore forward Brady Wenning scored 14 and junior Alex Shappie added 10.

Heitkamp averaged 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in regular season.

“He’s obviously the guy that can be a catalyst for us, and he was tonight,” Barhorst said. “When he gets himself going, whether it’s hitting the offensive boards, pulling up and hitting, the rest of the team follows. Tonight, that’s what happened.”

Valley View dropped to 4-8 in mid-January but played better in the last month of regular season. The Spartans, which beat Monroe 72-65 on Friday to conclude regular-season play, average 60 points per game.

“They love getting up and down the court and throw a lot of things at you,” Barhorst said. “We’ve got to turn around and be ready for anything they throw at us.”

Freshman Brody Denny averaged a Southwestern Buckeye League-best 22.8 points per game. Two other players average double figures in points, including freshman Ty Fritz, who averages 14.3 points and 10.4 rebounds.

“They’re a very good, young, talented team,” Barhorst said. “We’re going to have our hands full. I’ve got to sit down and break down a little bit more film. Denny can do about anything for them, and Fritz is 6-6, 6-7, and solid as well. It starts with those two, and the rest of them feed off of them.”

The No. 18 seed Blazers finish 8-15 overall. Sophomore guard Kellen Laird led the squad with 14 points.

Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.