Veteran Megan Buck, medalist Mekhala Costello and two Smith sisters make it to the final eight of the Massachusetts women’s amateur tournament

A showdown of experience and youth will kick off Thursday’s quarterfinals of the 121st Massachusetts Women’s Amateur at Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown after Megan Buck, the only player among the eight finalists older than 21, won a pair of matches to set up for a meeting with medalist Mekhala Costello.

After beating recent Sturgis West graduate Mya Murphy, 5 and 3, in the first round of 32-player match play, Buck, 36, faced Shannon Johnson, with whom she has won the past five Mass. Girls Four-Ball championships. Despite some tough emotions, she controlled the match with her North Easton neighbor and Thorny Lea teammate, taking a 3-up lead into the back nine and winning, 4 and 3.

“This afternoon was tough… We wanted to be in the final if we had to play against each other,” Buck said. “It’s tough playing against your friend.”

It’s the third Women’s Amateur quarterfinal appearance for Buck, the 2022 MassGolf Player of the Year. She finished fourth at the New England Women’s Amateur Championship in June.

Meanwhile, Costello followed up a 2-under 69 in the stroke-play portion of the event with two wins of 4 and 2 in match play Wednesday. Hingham’s Samantha Leary was 1 up after Costello made an 8 on the par-5 10th hole in the round of 32, but the Canton High graduate headed to Amherst College to play soccer and steadied with pars on four of the final six holes, winning five to close out the match.

Even with Concord-Carlisle’s Erika Redmond down after eight holes in the round of 16, Costello won the 9th and 10th holes with pars, the par-4 13th with a birdie and closed things out on the 16th.

Joining Buck and Costello in the quarterfinals will be two of Westford’s three Smith sisters, all of whom reached match play. Morgan Smith, headed to Georgia after a successful freshman season at Georgetown, shot 1-under 34 on the front nine in both of her matches Wednesday, beating Nashawtuc’s Lorelai Flanagan, 4 and 3, and Longmeadow teen Annie Dai, 7 and 5. Her younger sister, Molly Smith, runner-up at last summer’s Women’s Amateur before a stellar freshman season at Central Florida, worked even faster. She won five straight holes to take control in a 4-and-3 victory over Longmeadow’s Cecily Henshon, then seven of eight to close out Hatherly CC’s Jillian Johnson, 7 and 6.

The youngest of the trio, 16-year-old Maddie Smith, lost a round-of-32 match to Redmond, 2 and 1.

Morgan, the 2022 champion and runner-up to Costello in this year’s stroke play, and Molly could meet in the semifinals Thursday afternoon, but each faces a tough test first. Morgan faces Winchester’s Christine Mandile, who lost just one of her first 25 holes Wednesday, while Molly faces Bowdoin-bound Katherine Ng, who played all 15 holes she needed in her afternoon round at 2 under par.

Thursday’s other quarterfinal match will feature Amy Lyon of Winchester, who beat two-time New Hampshire Women’s Amateur champion Carys Fennessy in the round of 32, and Julia Imai of Brookline. Imai needed 39 holes to get through Wednesday’s match, including 22 in a marathon victory over Jacqueline Gonzalez of Charles River CC.

Play is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Thursday at Taconic, followed by the semifinals and 18-hole final on Friday.