Top-seeded Providence Academy withstood an eight-point second-half run by unseeded Montevideo to defeat the Thunder Hawks 68-55 in the Class 2A quarterfinals of the girls’ basketball state tournament Wednesday in Williams Arena.

The Lions (27-4) led by 11 before the run. They extended their lead back to double digits with a subsequent 7-0 run of their own and led by at least eight points for the rest of the game.

All seven points during the run came from sisters Hope, Maria and Grace Counts.

“It was a lot of talking to each other and lifting each other up,” Hope Counts, a freshman, said of the run.

Eighth-grader Maddyn Greenway led Providence Academy with 21 points, and Grace Counts, a junior, finished with 17. Hope Counts finished with 12 points while guarding Montevideo standout forward Avery Koenen, who has committed to North Dakota State.

“This was a big defensive night for Hope,” Providence Academy coach Conner Goetz said.

The Lions, last year’s Class 2A runners up, forced 21 turnovers, including 14 in the first half, as they built a 10-point lead. But Montevideo (25-4) committed just seven turnovers in the second half as they slowed the game down.

Koenen led the Thunder Hawks, who were making their first state-tournament appearance in school history, with 25 points and 14 rebounds.

Coach Anthony Jackson said he was proud of the team for heeding his staff’s halftime advice to be patient and focus on running the offense.

“There’s nothing to hang our heads about,” he said.