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Osseo overcame a 12-point deficit in the first half to defeat St. Paul Central 63-56 on Wednesday afternoon at Target Center.

St. Paul Central led 17-5 early in the Class 4A quarterfinal, but Osseo finished the half on a 24-10 run to pull in front 29-27.

“We called a timeout and talked about how we needed to play and settle down and get going at the pace we knew we could compete,” Osseo coach John Rieser said.

Senior Phillis Webb and junior Ayo Porte each scored 10 points in the first half, with Webb scoring on a breakaway layup in the final seconds of the half to give the Orioles (22-8) its first lead since the opening minutes.

Poor free-throw shooting (7-for-19) ruined the Minutemen’s chances to rally late in the game, while the Orioles’ upperclassmen leadership held strong. Webb and Porte went on to collect a pair of double-doubles: Webb had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Porte had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Senior center Sade Chatman led Central (26-5) with 14 points and seven rebounds, and junior center Rayna Sherow added nine points and 10 rebounds.

“I don’t know what happened,” Sherow said. “I think we got a little too relaxed. Then it was tied. Then they had the lead at halftime. We’re usually better [at free throws]. They just didn’t fall all the way through.”

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Bloomington Kennedy 66, Anoka 48: The Eagles didn’t need to rely on their leaders. They got plenty of support from younger role players in thumping the Tornadoes.

Eighth-grade forward Jasmyn Martin was perfect (5-for-5 shooting) in the first half, and freshman guard Kiara Russell was sharp from three-point land (4-for-5 for the game).

“The [seniors and juniors] let me know that I can help the team,” Martin said. “I think our role was really important. We needed to get up, and we sparked things.”

The Eagles (27-3), who held a 32-21 lead at halftime, called their play to that point uncharacteristic, but they struggled in the first six minutes of the second half. The unseeded Tornadoes (20-10) managed to stick with the No. 2 seed for 24 minutes and trailed by only two, 34-32, with 12 minutes, 40 seconds to play.

Then Russell hit a three-pointer, triggering a 32-16 Kennedy run that made it hard to tell the game had once been close. Kennedy’s core found more rhythm, as Jade Martin (14 points) and Kenisha Bell (13 points) closed the door on the Tornadoes. Russell finished with 13 points and Jasmyn Martin had 10.

“They stepped up ’cause we weren’t really on,” Bell said. “If someone steps up, it makes us step up.”

Anoka was led by Claire Lundberg’s game-high 16 points.

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