The Millers built an early lead, then rolled with the punches Monticello threw, holding off the determined Magic 62-53 in the Class 3A quarterfinals.

Washburn, a Class 2A tournament team in 2013, never trailed, maintaining a first-half lead of as many as eight points behind the play of Metro Player of the Year Chase Coley. But Monticello never let the Millers get comfortable.

“That’s something that we’ve done all year,” said Washburn coach Tylor Coley, Chase’s father. “We are a team that relaxes. We get a lead, then we relax. We have to get better at putting teams away.”

Coley, who is listed at 6-3 but seems taller, scored 29 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked three shots and forced Monticello to give up on its inside game.

Monticello cut the lead to two points twice in the second half behind forward Emily Gruber’s 24 points.

Washburn regained control behind Natalie Holdahl’s three three-pointers in the second half. “She’s our X-factor,” Chase Coley said. “We bring her in for her basketball IQ. When we get shots like those out of her, it’s huge.”

JIM PAULSEN