It might have taken No. 9 Alexandria a little while to get in gear, but when the players did, they were a smooth machine. The Cardinals took a hot second half right to the semifinals, besting Grand Rapids 55-32.

The teams started out evenly matched, both struggling to get past the other’s defense. Alexandria gained momentum on consecutive shots, but the Thunderhawks’ Jessi Corrick dropped a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie it up going into the half.

“I said, 'We’re right where we want to be. This is where we want to be,’” Alexandria coach Wendy Kohler told her team at halftime. “What we needed to do, it was bigger than that shot. And this team is a really good team at making adjustments, I think.”

The Cardinals came out strong in the second half, staging a 17-0 run — which included eight points from Lauren Trumm. From there, they rolled. Trumm scored eight points in the final five minutes to finish with 23.

“It was crazy out there. It’s just your dream to be here,” Trumm said.

GRAND RAPIDS

ALEXANDRIA

Stats not available for Alexandria's post season.