Bouncing into each other’s arms and mugging for the camera, the Lakeville North girls’ basketball team looked the part of triumphant underdogs.

The Panthers enjoyed a turbo-charged start and endured a near-collapse within a 69-52 upset of No. 2 seed Centennial on Tuesday in the Class 4A state tournament quarterfinal at Target Center.

The victory marked just the second time overall that a No. 2 seed fell in the opening round and the first time since 2010. Lakeville North’s lead ballooned to 35-9 in the first half before Centennial whittled it down to a one-possession game in the second half.

The Panthers remained unfazed.

“It felt like a tight game; it felt like a two-point game the entire time,” said Panthers’ junior forward MacKenzie Denk, who scored a game-high 21 points. “The intensity was there for both teams the whole time. We just had to have more heart to win.”

Struggling to contain Lakeville North’s quickness, Centennial used a trapping defense in the second half to slow the pace. The switch helped the Cougars build a 22-5 run to shrink Lakeville North’s lead to 42-40. Jill Conrad fueled the comeback with 10 of Centennial’s points.

Then Denk scored, followed by field goals from Temi Carda and Jessica Meidl and the Panthers went ahead 54-44. The spent Cougars could not get within six points down the stretch.

“Adrenaline was wearing off,” Centennial coach Greg Amundson said. “I’m sure the legs weren’t working like they should have.”