WINDOM – The Tracy-Milroy-Balaton girls basketball team came back to take the lead in the second half but had to hold off a late Martin County West rally as the Panthers escaped with a 50-48 victory in the Section 3AA South Sub-Section Championship on Tuesday night.

It was a back-and-forth battle from the start, as MCW held a slim 13-12 lead midway through the first half before taking a 26-22 lead at halftime.

The Panthers would go on a run in the early stages of the second half to take a 30-28 lead with 13 minutes to go before using a 14-8 advantage over the next few minutes to take a 44-36 lead with 6:45 left.

MCW wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, as it cut the deficit to just three at 49-46 with 43 seconds remaining. But the Panthers were able to hang on in the closing seconds to take the two-point victory and move on to the Section 3AA title game.

Sydney Lanoue led the way for the Panthers with 20 points while Kaylee Kirk added 17 and Evy Dolan had five.

TMB (28-2) will face the No. 1 seed in the North bracket, Eden Valley-Watkins, for a trip to the state tournament on Friday at 8 p.m. at SMSU.