Staff photo by Jeremy Behnke Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s guard Reagan Severson looks to drive against New Ulm Cathedral’s Jenna Hotovec in Wednesday’s Section 2A girls’ basketball playoff game at Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s.

SLEEPY EYE — By halftime of Wednesday’s Section 2A girls’ basketball game against New Ulm Cathedral, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s junior Madison Mathiowetz had already outscored the entire New Ulm Cathedral team.

Mathiowetz scored 25 points in the first half and finished with 34 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two steals as the Knights advanced in the Section 2A girls’ basketball playoffs, defeating New Ulm Cathedral 72-39.

Sydney Windschitl finished with 8 points and seven rebounds. Eighth-grader Maddie Gilles led Cathedral with 12 points and Emily Schommer finished with 10 points. Lily Franta scored 9 points for the Greyhounds, who ended their season at 2-14.

St. Mary’s (19-0) will host Sleepy Eye at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The Knights grabbed the lead early on and never were in any danger of being upset. The took a 13-0 lead in the first 3 minutes thanks to a trio of 3-pointers from Mathiowetz.

After Franta hit a 3 to put Cathedral on the board with 13:40 left in the first half, the Knights went on another run, this time going on an 8-2 run to push the lead to 21-5. A 3 by Gillis made it 21-8 in favor of St. Mary’s, but the Knights pushed the lead to 29-11 on a basket by Windschitl with 7:16 remaining in the first half.

Baskets by Mathiowetz and Emma Currans gave the Knights a 39-15 advantage and another basket by Mathiowetz put St. Mary’s up 41-18. The Knights led 41-23 at halftime and cruised in the second half.

The win sets up a third meeting this season with cross-town rival Sleepy Eye High School. The Knights defeated the Indians 73-49 and 72-39 this season.