The gameplan to stop Tartan is easy to plan for but difficult to execute.

The Titans' Tia Elbert is one of the elite scorers in the state, so completely stopping her is simply not going to happen. Limiting her from having a huge night is more feasible.

"She is going to get her points, and we know that," Stillwater coach Gerard Coury said. "We just have to make her work, take a charge and not let her get to the foul line, because she looks to get there."

The fifth-seeded Ponies executed that part of the plan to near perfection in their 66-52 victory against fourth-seed Tartan in the Section 4AAAA quarterfinals on Wednesday night at Tartan High School.

It was the first time in four years that the Ponies moved past the quarterfinal round.

"We are definitely excited, but we are wanting to push forward," junior Erin Thiets said. "It's been a while, and I know that we wanted to do this and really wanted our seniors to experience it."

Thiets did her part, scoring 25 points to lead all scorers, doing most of her work in the paint. She was accompanied by fellow captain and senior Paige Becker, who was right behind her with 24 points.

The Ponies will be the first to say they can't always rely on one player to carry the torch and have lived by the motto of sticking together.

"You have to have balance this time of the year," Becker said. "We rely on all of us to play and step up."

"We don't have a player that will score 40 or 50 points, so we have to have all five together on the court," Coury said. "We have players that will dive for a loose ball, make a big turnover or get the offense going, and we need that, and I thought we did that well tonight."

Stillwater held a 31-26 lead at the half. In the second it had a lead as high as eight, but the Titans stormed back and took a brief one-point lead.

The Ponies bounced back, cruised in the final minutes and hit their free throws to seal it.

"From day one we wanted to get that section win," Thiets said. "We wanted to do this for Stillwater girls' basketball."

Stillwater will play the winner of top-seed White Bear Lake and No. 8 seed North St. Paul on Saturday at East Ridge High School in the Section 4AAAA semifinals.