APEX — When asked how the Apex girls’ lacrosse team was able to climb out of 6-3 deficit Thursday and eventually crush Chapel Hill in the second round of the NCHSWLA playoffs, Apex senior Sasha Vedock looked in the direction of the coaching staff and responded with a half-serious laugh.

“Our coaches yelling at us at halftime,” Vedock joked. She then added, “We were just kind of asleep at the beginning. It just took momentum and encouragement from everyone.”

Whatever motivated the Cougars (16-3), they certainly woke up and responded in furious, dramatic fashion.

After the Tigers jumped ahead by three goals, they scored only three more times the rest of the way, as the Cougars defense clamped down.

Apex piled on the offense and cruised to the state semifinals thanks to its 22-9 rout of the Tigers.

Now they are two victories away from repeating as state champions, a remarkable feat considering the program is only in its fourth year.

After a string of Chapel Hill goals put the Tigers up 6-3 with 13:04 to go in the first half, Vedock led Apex on a 9-2 run to close the period and force a sudden turnaround in flow of the game.

Chapel Hill went almost 20 minutes without scoring another goal and when it did, the game was already in hand for the Cougars, who were on a 14-point run when the Tigers added their final score.

“The difference was they started playing at speed,” said Apex coach Jessica Pinneo. “Sasha scored a couple of goals and we just got the momentum there.”

Vedock led Apex with eight goals, including three straight when the Cougars were staging their first-half comeback. Sarah Fellows chipped in four goals and an assist, while Cawley Bromley added three goals and four assists.

“A lot of times, the team plays off each other, which makes a big difference,” Pinneo said.

Now, the Cougars face rival Green Hope in the semifinals on Thursday, when they hope to advance and defend their state title from a year ago.

“[We need] to start off strong, definitely talk on defense and play our game, not their game,” Vedock said.