ROBERT O’ROURK PHOTO | Riverhead senior Naysha Trent leads the Blue Waves against Sachem East tonight.

The road to the county championship appeared to run through Sachem East last season. The Flaming Arrows sat atop the Class AA bracket, the No. 1 seed and seemingly the No. 1 obstacle for Riverhead to get through.

On the opposite side of the bracket, the No. 3 Blue Waves figured they’d meet the Flaming Arrows in the county finals.

Only that matchup never came to fruition after Hauppauge picked off Sachem in the semifinals.

Tonight, the Blue Waves and Flaming Arrows resume their postseason rivalry when Riverhead travels to Sachem for a 5:45 p.m. tip-off in the Class AA quarterfinals. [Check back for live updates during the game]. It was the same spot the Blue Waves found themselves in two years ago, when the Flaming Arrows won 76-45.

Riverhead, behind 42 points from Shanice Allen and Naysha Trent, cruised in the first round of the playoffs last Thursday against Half Hollow Hills East, 61-36.

The Flaming Arrows, seeded 2nd, come into tonight’s game off a 61-31 win over Brentwood in the first round. The League I champion Arrows are 16-2 and have won eight straight.

The Blue Waves will have to contain Sachem East guard Katie Doherty, who comes into the game averaging 16.5 points per game. The Flaming Arrows aren’t as dynamic an offensive team as some of their recent teams, but they still have another talented player who can score in Kathleen Everson. Emily Carmel also gives them a threat from beyond the arc.

The winner of today’s game advances to the semifinals against No. 3 Walt Whitman or No. 11 Bellport Saturday.

joew@timesreview.com