REGIONAL- All three area girls basketball teams scored first-game wins in the Class 7A sectional tournament, but the season came to an end Wednesday night for Northeast Range.

Because 19 teams compete in Section 7A, the bottom six teams squared off on Monday for a berth in Wednesday’s regular 16-team bracket.

Northeast Range, seeded 16th, hosted 17th seed Silver Bay for the second time this season. Silver Bay squeaked by with a 43-42 win in January on the Nighthawks’ home floor, but NER more than turned the tables this time, crushing the Mariners 60-32.

The Nighthawks’ reward for the win was a trip to take on the state’s top-ranked Class A team, Mt. Iron-Buhl. The Rangers were overpowering on both ends of the floor as they waltzed to an 88-12 win. Northeast Range ended its season with a record of 5-16.

Quarterfinal games on Saturday at UMD’s Romano Gymnasium await both Ely and North Woods, winners of Wednesday night home games.

Sixth-seeded Ely breezed past 84-21 Hill City/Northland, while the eight-seeded Grizzlies dispatched Deer River 58-35. Both teams will face opponents in the quarterfinals that beat them in the regular season.

North Woods will kick off Saturday’s quarterfinals with an 11 a.m. tilt against top-seeded Mt. Iron-Buhl.

Ely and South Ridge will tip off at 5:30 p.m. in the final game of the day.

Check timberjay.com and the Timberjay Facebook page for updates after Saturday’s games, and complete game reports will appear in next week’s edition.