HIBBING - Despite some struggles early in the game, North Woods rallied in the second half to sail past Ely, 60-48, in the Section 7A playoffs at Hibbing Memorial Arena on Thursday.

"We don't have a lot of playoff experience, especially in this building," said Grizzlies Head Coach Ashlee Zupancich. "I figured if we could weather the storm through the first half, that things would go a little better in the second half."

Ely Head Coach Darren Visser said his team was able to stick with the Grizzlies through the first half despite having two starters — Shayla Zaverl and Courtney Kellogg — unavailable to play and Marlee Muhvich on court but not at full strength.

"The Grizzlies were a little cold in the first half and in the second, they just made a few more shots," said Visser. "We were lacking depth on the bench today and that hurt us down the line, too."

The Timberwolves pulled ahead early, leading 6-0 before Jessica Harmston knocked down a pair of treys to even the score. From that point, the two teams traded baskets for most of the remainder of the half, battling to a 27-27 tie at the midway point.

In the second half, the Grizzlies pulled ahead, aided by a series of baskets from three-point range by Alicia Rutchasky. North Woods tallied enough baskets to gain a double-digit lead with the gap going as high as 19 points.

Zupancich said the Grizzlies' defensive play also made a difference.

"We played good defense for stretches and rebounded well at times," said Zupancich.

"We moved the ball around offensively," she continued. "We weren't relying on one person to do the scoring. We got some nice looks inside and that's what you need when you're struggling with your outside shooting."

Visser said he was proud of his team's effort in Thursday's playoff game.

"They played hard and gave themselves a chance," he said. "We just got tired. We lost our legs on offense and weren't able to hit as many shots."

The Timberwolves finish the season with a 10-14 record overall and were 8-8 in the section.

"I think we exceeded a lot of people's expectations," said Visser."The girls have fought hard all season and we won some games we maybe weren't expected to. So, overall, I think it's been a good season for our program."

Ely will lose four of its starters to graduation, and Visser acknowledged the team will be in a rebuilding mode next year. "We only have 15 girls in grades 7-12 to start with, so we're going to be young and light on numbers."

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies move on the next round where they will face top-seeded Mountain Iron-Buhl on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. at Hibbing Memorial Arena. The Rangers advanced to the quarterfinals after crushing Nashwauk-Keewatin, 84-21, on Thursday.