The Eastview girls’ basketball team overcame a late Rochester Mayo comeback attempt to win Wednesday’s Class 4A state tournament quarterfinal at Target Center.

The No. 3 seed Lightning dispatched the Spartans by a 54-40 margin thanks in large part to forcing 27 turnovers.

“We wanted to play aggressively on defense,” Eastview coach Melissa Guebert said. “I think we set the tone with our defense.”

The teams were tied 13-13 before the Lightning closed the first half on a 19-1 surge. Rochester Mayo went more than 10 minutes without a basket.

A 32-14 halftime lead did not comfort Guebert.

“I don’t know if it was a cushion at all,” Guebert said. “I thought we lacked some focus and intensity in the second half.”

Eastview (28-2) led by 24 points in the second half. But the Spartans chipped the deficit to 10 with 1 minute and 11 seconds remaining.

“We were still confident we could pull through,” said Eastview sophomore forward Hana Metoxen, who scored 14 points.

Sophomore Madison Guebert, a Star Tribune All Metro First Team selection, made four free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. She led all scorers with 27 points. Rachael Doll led Rochester Mayo (21-8) with 15 points.

The victory sets up a decisive third meeting with South Suburban Conference rival and No. 2 seed Bloomington Kennedy in Thursday’s semifinals. The teams split the regular season series.

DAVID La VAQUE

1. Madison Guebert (Eastview) - Guebert hit five 3's and made 8 of 9 FT's on her way to scoring 27 points. She also took down 7 boards and had 4 steals. Bloomington Kennedy will look to shut her down or at least contain her in tomorrow's semi-final.

2. Rachael Doll (Rochester Mayo) - It would have been a long game without Doll scoring 15 points and pulling in 12 rebounds. She was the only Mayo player in double figures. Her teammates did a good job of feeding her the ball and Doll reward them by finishing in the paint. 

3. Hana Metoxen (Eastview) - Metoxen shot 5-10 from the floor and added 4 of 5 FT's for 14 points. She lead the team with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and added 3 steals tonight.  

- Pete Heldstab, MN Girls Basketball Hub