Defensive adjustments payed dividends for the United South Central girls’ basketball team.

The Rebels trailed St. Clair by double digits Thursday in the first half of the Subsection 2A semifinals hosted by Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial.

However, USC cut its deficit to four points at halftime and made more progress after the break.

“We switched up our matchups in the second half,” said USC head coach Stu Hendrickson. “It was really a team effort. Taylor Steckelberg shut down their leading scorer, and we played better as a team defensively.”

The Rebels held St. Clair to 18 points in the second half to win 60-46 and advance to the subsection finals.

Anissa Janzig led USC with 15 points to go with seven rebounds, and Shianne Robertson had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Tara Bauman added eight points for the Rebels, and Taylor Schultz dished out a team-high five assists.

The Rebels (19-7 overall, 8-5 Gopher Conference) and Cyclones (10-15 overall, 6-7 Valley Conference) met earlier this season in USC’s third game of the year, and the Rebels won 52-47 at St. Clair.

USC will face Mankato Loyola (25-2 overall, 13-0 Valley Conference) in the subsection finals at 8 p.m. Monday.

The Rebels and Crusaders met during the regular season on Feb. 18, and Mankato Loyola won 68-45.

Statistics are in the Scoreboard: March 6 post.