INDIANA, Pa. — At Missy Corle's feet were two bags filled to the brim with Hershey's Kisses.

"We probably have 10 bags of them," she said.

But instead of hurling the chocolate confections onto the court in celebration of a trip to Hershey and the state championship game, they served as a sugary snack and a cruel reminder on the long ride home to Rimersburg following a 46-44 loss by the Union girls basketball team to Conemaugh Valley in the PIAA Class A semifinals at Indiana University of Pennsylvania Wednesday night.

"If we lose, we're going to eat them on the way home to soothe our tears," Corle said before the game.

There were a lot of Hershey's Kisses consumed on the road Wednesday night.

Corle, the mother of junior guard Tiffany Corle, and 21 family members and friends donned yellow and blue tie-dyed shirts with the No. 3 on the front and the name Corle on the back.

Union followers, always rabid and supportive of a Damsels team that has made playoff appearances commonplace in the last three decades, have been even more vocal and omnipresent during Union's latest run.

Throngs of fans filled the stands more than an hour before tip-off Friday.

As loud as they were during the game, they were silent following it.

"I still think it's hard to believe it's over," Missy Corle said. "They came all this way."

Union fans always have followed the team wherever they have gone. In a town as small as Rimersburg, the swell of fandom travels quickly through the citizenship.

When Amy Pollock, who is Tiffany Corle's aunt, played for Union during another deep playoff run in 1985, she said the fan following was just as strong.

"I'm not surprised," Pollock said. "There have been lots of fans following this team for a lot of years."

Most of Rimersburg was here for this game. The town's drugstore closed at 4 p.m. Most other businesses closed early to allow fans to make the trek to IUP.

"Rimersburg is a ghost town right now," said senior Chad Carmichael.

Carmichael and many of his classmates are part of a group of Union fans who call themselves the Meeker Maniacs in tribute to coach Josh Meeker.

The fans tried to body surf Bethany Koch through the stands following Union's win against Serra Catholic in the state quarterfinals.

They intended to give it another try Wednesday night if the Damsels won.

Carmichael said not just students belong to the Meeker Maniacs. Everyone belongs.

"Even the older people are Meeker Maniacs," he said. "They are sometimes crazier than we are. It's great."

But now the season is over and the Meeker Maniacs will go into hibernation for another long offseason.

But they'll be back.

A big welcome was planned for the team in Rimersburg late Wednesday night when the bus returned.

The loss was particularly hard on senior forward Andrea Mortimer, who collapsed to the floor in tears after her desperation jumper was blocked in the waning seconds.

As she lay, crying, teammates and fans tried to console her.

"Oh, my, our fans are so supportive," Missy Corle said. "No one left. Everyone hung around. ... We didn't want it to end like this."