Northfield senior guard Grace Touchette never lost faith in her team, even as Grand Rapids rained down daggers from Heaven.

Senior guard Heaven Hamling had her unseeded Thunderhawks thinking upset as she made four three-pointers to fuel a seven-point lead in the second half. From there, though, No. 2 seed Northfield turned up the defensive pressure in a 64-54 victory Thursday in the Class 3A semifinal at Target Center.

“We know that you can’t make 100 percent of your shots, especially when they’re contested,” said Touchette, adding that the Raiders’ height and deep roster convinced her that “eventually we’ll run them down.”

The Raiders (27-3) advance to face No. 1 seed Cooper in the Class 3A championship game Saturday. Northfield finished second in 1979.

Hamling’s hot shooting gave Grand Rapids a 47-40 lead. Northfield’s defense permitted just seven points for the remainder.

Northfield coach Tony Mathison said he “challenged our girls during a couple timeouts and said, ‘We need to start outworking them.’ ”

Message received.

“They were very aggressive and applying a lot of pressure and that kind of threw us off,” said Kris Hamling, Grand Rapids coach and Heaven’s mother.

Touchette scored nine points and helped spark Northfield to a 59-51 lead with 2:47 left. She finished with 21 points, the only Northfield scorer in double-digits. But she hardly was alone. Nine players scored as the Raiders outscored Grand Rapids 15-0 off the bench.

They were better inside, too. Grand Rapids forwards Hannah DeMars (14 points) and Maggie Miska (10) made shots but Northfield’s quartet of 6-footers — Emma Carlson, Annika Hoff, Rachel Kelly and Annalee Olson-Sola — combined for 22 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks.

“We have a hard time matching up with height and they have a lot of height,” Kris Hamling said.

Grand Rapids (22-8) saw its eight-game winning streak end.

No. 2 seed Northfield held off unseeded Grand Rapids in a 64-54 semifinal victory Thursday at the Target Center.

The Raiders (27-3) advance to face No. 1 seed Cooper in the Class 3A state tournament championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Target Center. Northfield finished second in 1979.

Grand Rapids (22-8) saw its eight-game winning streak end.

Check back later for more on the game.