TRACY — Hailey Gernentz scored 17 points in her final home game as a Panther on Thursday night to lead the No. 8 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton girls basketball team past No. 9 Red Rock Central for a 60-24 win in the Section 3A South play-in game. The Panthers will now face top-seeded Southwest Minnesota Christian in the subsection quarterfinals on Saturday.

Gernentz shot 6 of 11 from the field and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line in the win. Kyli Carter also had a major scoring impact with 14 points on 5 of 10 from the field and 4 of 5 from the charity stripe. Carter and Gernentz each dished out a pair of assists while Marin Knott distributed a game-high four assists without a turnover.

Taylor Lang and Alyssa Cowan led all RRC scorers with 8 and 7 points respectively. Lang also led the Falcons on the glass with six rebounds while Cowan, Mercedes Myers and Maia Scheffler each grabbed another five rebounds. Myers’ three offensive boards also led the Falcons to a 9-2 advantage on the offensive glass.

Despite the disadvantage in terms of offensive rebounding, TMB still built a 32-26 rebounding advantage on the night. Knott and Allison Edwards grabbed seven rebounds each while Melaina Ankrum finished with another six.

While TMB held just a narrow 15-18 advantage in the turnover battle, they recorded 10 steals as a group compared to three for RRC. Ankrum and Gernentz finished with three steals each while Scheffler ld RRC with two.

TMB will now head to Worthington to face off against No. 1 SWC on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Eagles ended the Panthers’ season last year with a 66-52 loss in the subsection semifinals.

No. 7S MCC 51, No. 10S HLOF 16

SLAYTON — Defense reigned supreme for the Murray County Central girls basketball team on Thursday night as the Rebels held Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda to just 16 points in a 51-16 section play-in win. The Rebels’ 3A South play-in victory sets them up with a matchup against No. 2S Westbrook-Walnut Grove in the subsection quarterfinals on Saturday.

MCC forced HLOF into committing 23 turnovers in the game. Lily Daniels led the defensive effort while Abby Overman, Ava Deacon and Kelli Miller each had another two steals. Overman and Thea Schneider each also had a block.

Schneider also led the Rebels offensively. She was the game’s only scorer in double figures, finishing with 15 points while making her lone 3-point attempt. Kelli Miller tied Jayda Hellewell for second on the team with 8 points while knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. Ranae Salentiny and Irish Hollahan were the only Coyotes with multiple field goals, finishing with 7 and 6 points respectively.

Schneider’s game-high 10 total rebounds, including six on the offensive glass, gave her a double-double and led MCC to a 41-24 rebounding advantage. Hellewell and Miller each also added in six rebounds.

Ava Deacon dished out a game-high four assists with one turnover.

MCC’s subsection quarterfinals matchup against Westbrook-Walnut Grove will be held at Worthington on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. WWG won both of the teams’ regular-season matchups by final scores of 62-24 and 60-26.

No. 8N YME 46, No. 9N LQPV 37

GRANITE FALLS — The Yellow Medicine East girls basketball team defeated the ninth-seeded Lac qui Parle Valley Eagles in the Section 3A North play-in round on Thursday night, 45-37, to advance to the subsection quarterfinals. They’ll take on No. 1N Minneota at Montevideo on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Alana Almich caught fire in the second half with three 3-pointers to lead YME with 14 points. Bayli Sneller also hit a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 12 points on the night while Bailey Mortenson added another 10.

The win was YME’s second in as many games against the Eagles this season after they defeated them 47-34 on Dec. 22.

Minneota defeated YME in their regular-season matchup by a final score of 68-26.

No. 7N Wabasso 71, No. 10N RCW 54

WABASSO — The seventh-seeded Wabasso girls basketball team ran through No. 10 Renville County West in the Section 3A North play-in round on Thursday night, taking a 71-54 win to advance to the subsection quarterfinals. They’ll face Central Minnesota Christian in their next tournament game on Saturday at Montevideo.

Wabasso had lost consecutive games to Lakeview and No. 4 Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart prior to Thursday’s win. Stats were unavailable for the game.