HIBBING - Ely put together a strong start.

But third-seeded Cherry came to life midway through the first half of Thursday's Section 7A tournament opener in Hibbing, then carried the momentum the rest of the night in a 64-36 win over the sixth-seeded Wolves.

Ely came out of the gates quickly, building a 13-10 lead in the opening minutes.

Cherry would then answer in a big way, though, rattling off a 19-0 run to seize control of the game, going into halftime ahead 37-23 and not looking back.

Freshmen Erika Mattson and Brielle Kallberg led the Wolves offensively, with Mattson scoring 12 points and Kallberg draining 11.

Shayla Zaverl added five points and Kalley Fischer scored four.

Ely finished the season with a record of 13-13.

"Overall I was happy with the improvement I saw in our team from last year to this year," Ely head coach Darren Visser said. "All of the players grew and showed steady development throughout the season.

"Next I would hope to see continued improvement in our team. We bring back many players who saw significant playing time this year, which makes me believe that with some quality off-season work that we can improve again and be able to compete better with some of the better teams in our section next year. We do lose depth, with losing three seniors, and we will need younger players to step up and be able to help fill roles for us next year to give us the depth that we will need to compete at a higher level each and every game."

Seniors on this year's roster included Susan Cook, Morgan Moravitz and Maggie Isbell.

"Maggie, Susan, and Morgan will be missed next year and younger players will need to step up to fill their shoes," Visser said. "Each one of these girls brought different talents to the team and helped to make our team well-rounded. They lead by maintaining a good attitude and working hard. These three girls will do well in life because they are hard workers and quality people."