DULUTH — The Grizzlies advanced to the Section 7A semifinals after rolling to an 82-48 win over Mesabi East here Saturday. North Woods (25-0) will be matched against Barnum (22-5) on Wednesday, March 7 at 6 p.m. at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

In Saturday's game against the Rangers, Darby Youngstrom led North Woods' offense with 27 points and numerous assists. Center LaShae Brooks was close behind with 20 points, while sophomore guard Destinie Villebrun added 14 and senior guard Amber Zapata bucketed 10.

The Giants were led by Hailey Lislegard with 10 points.

"Our girls have been playing really well together," Grizzlies Head Coach Ashlee Zupancich said. If an opponent focuses on one area, her players know they have to take advantage of what is available to them, she explained.

Saturday's quarterfinal win followed a victory over Chisholm on March 1. After a sluggish start, the Grizzlies sailed past the Bluestreaks, 73-45.

Both the Bluestreaks and Grizzlies struggled to find the basket in the opening minutes, but North Woods pulled ahead after sinking five consecutive free-throw attempts.

“The game started late and that had a lot do with it,” said Zupancich about the team’s rough start. “And there were some playoff jitters. The girls know that we’re wearing a big bull’s eye on our back and everybody who we play doesn’t have anything to lose.”

North Woods, led by Darby Youngstrom who recorded a game-high 22 points, seized control early in the first half, taking a 40-15 lead into the locker room at the break.

“We just kept plugging away to get a little bit of a cushion,” said Zupancich. “We moved the ball really well and were taking high-percentage shots.”

During halftime, Zupancich told her team to keep up the intensity and play more aggressively. “We wanted to try to get out of here a little bit earlier,” she said. “We didn’t want to walk the floor with the ball.”

The pep talk appeared to energize the team, which stepped up its defensive pressure in the second half.

In addition to Youngstrom, leading scorers for the Grizzlies included Destinie Villebrun, who tallied 17 points and LaShae Brooks who added 15. The Grizzlies also got eight points from Rachel Harmston and five from Marissa LaPatka.

Karla Buria led the Bluestreaks, dumping in 19 points including five three-pointers. Teammate Brianna Zunich contributed 16.