A trip to the semifinal round was something the Cicero-North Syracuse girls basketball team had done before. What the no. 3 seed Northstars want to do Friday night at Liverpool is, finally, get past that threshold, which will require beating no. 2 seed Christian Brothers Academy. The winner gets Corcoran or Fayetteville-Manlius for the AA title March 7 at Utica Memorial Auditorium.CNS reached this point with a solid all-around effort in last Tuesday’s AA quarterfinal, a 52-38 victory over no. 6 seed Nottingham that thrilled the home fans on many levels. Having lost to the Bulldogs on Jan. 30, the Northstars knew this would not be easy, and it had to grind through a close first half against a Bulldog team that could be just as tough on the defensive side. One element was new since that last Nottingham meeting. Morgan Nandin was back from the foot injury that had sidelined her most of the season, as the senior came off the bench to contribute solid perimeter defense and a field goal, too. If the game turned anywhere, it came when Nikki Works, the Bulldogs’ star forward, went to the bench with three fouls midway through the second quarter. She sat on the bench for much of the next two periods, time enough for CNS to take charge. A series of blocked shots allowed freshman center Breanna Stewart to establish her paint dominance. As the game went on, she hit on a wide variety of moves on her way to 23 points as she took full advantage of Works’ long absence. Meanwhile, Marybeth Egan, quiet in the first half, started to find her shots. And when she drove in for a lay-up with 3:12 left in the third quarter, it gave the four-year varsity player 1,000 career points. The game was stopped to acknowledge her feat as Egan received a standing ovation. Egan, for the night, finished with 14 points. No Nottingham player scored in double figures, as Works and Iaellan Walters each had nine points.