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GRAND MEADOW – Grand Meadow senior Lauren Queensland was nearly perfect in the first half as she set the tone for the No. 3 seeded Superlarks girls basketball team in a 60-25 win over No. 6 Houston in a Section 1A Quarterfinal in Mayo Civic Center Auditorium Tuesday.

Queensland scored the first 12 points of the game for GM and she had 14 of the first 16 as the Superlarks seized an early 16-3 advantage. She finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds and five assists as she was effective in all aspects.

“To hit a couple of shots in the beginning really helped my confidence, especially playing here, which is so different,” Queensland said. “It was a very good stress reliever and it helped me relax with my teammates.”

The Hurricanes (17-9 overall) did not have an answer as GM led by double digits the rest of the way.

While Queensland scored almost half of her team’s points, her effort was supported by her teammates as Naomi Warmka put up 10 points and eight rebounds, Gracie Foster had nine points, eight rebounds and two steals, and Aspen Kolling, who scored four points with four assists, and Rylee Shaufler, who had four points, both provided tenacious defense.

“I think we really executed our gameplan well and we stayed strong as a team together,” Kolling said. “We have a very high trust level, we get along and we make it happen. All five of us together make one fist and we work together. We all stick to our roles and we get the job done.”

Queensland’s performance came after she had committed to Gustavus College last week. Her older sister Riley played for the Gusties and her other older sister Kendyl is a current member of the Gustavus team, which recently won the MIAC regular season title.

“I’m happy to have the decision made and now I can focus on the playoffs; it feels good to make my own path on my way to college,” Queensland said. “I’m really glad how it played out.”

The Superlarks (24-2 overall) will now take on No. 2 Spring Grove in a Section 1A semifinal in Mayo Civic Auditorium at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The Lions swept the regular season series from GM.

GM 30  30 – 60

Houston 7   18 – 25 

GM scoring: Lauren Queensland, 29; Naomi Warmka, 10; Gracie Foster, 9; Aspen Kolling, 4; Rylee Shaufler, 4; Alyssa Peterson, 2; Chloe Breitbarth, 2

Houston scoring: Aubry Bolt, 10; Julia Swenson, 5; Hannah Olson, 3; Emily Botcher, 2; Jorja Meyer, 2; Olivia Yohe, 2; Bella Rodriguez, 1