Battle-tested and a head taller than their opponent at nearly every position, Winona used a strong second half to pull away from Grand Rapids for a 76-56 victory in the Class 3A quarterfinals.

The Winhawks outscored Grand Rapids 38-20 after halftime, breaking open what was a two-point game at halftime.

“We had a talk about that at halftime,” senior forward Abby Winter said. “We had to come out and play our game.”

Williams Arena was spoken for —the Gophers’ women played an NIT game there Wednesday — so state tournament games were moved next door to Mariucci Arena. Playing basketball in a dedicated hockey arena has its challenges, largely with depth perception. That played right into Winona’s hands.

The taller Winhawks crashed the boards with authority, cleaning up misses and rarely giving Grand Rapids second-chance baskets. Winona finished the game with a 59-40 rebounding advantage.

“The arena made a difference, especially for a team like us that relies on outside shooting,” Grand Rapids coach Kris Hamling said. “And they were a lot taller than us, so they were able to control the paint.”

Winona earned the No. 2 seed in Class 2A despite entering the tournament with six losses. All of them came in Big Nine Conference play, including five against Class 4A Rochester schools. Playing a schedule loaded with tough competition paid off, senior forward  Hallee Hoeppner said.

“Playing against 4A teams gets us ready,” said Hoeppner, who led the Winhawks with 22 points. “And we played in the section tournament at the [Rochester] Mayo Civic Center, which got us a little bit used to playing here.”

Jayne Emerson scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Winona and Dannika Vogeli scored just 5 points but snagged 13 rebounds.

Grand Rapids (22-8) was led by Heaven Hamling with 13 points.

Using a balanced offensive attack and crashing the boards relentlessly, No. 2-seeded Winona advanced to Thursday’s Class 3A semifinal with a 76-56 victory over Grand Rapids.

The Winhawks (24-6) had three players in double figures, led by Hallee Hoeppner’s 22 points, and outrebounded smaller Grand Rapids 59-40 in the game Wednesday at Mariucci Arena.

Leading scorer Heaven Hamling paced Grand Rapids (22-8) with 13 points, but made just four of 19 field goal attempts.

Check back later for more on the game.