—Photo by Matthew Putney The emmetsburg basketball team stands with their trophy after a Class 2A quarterfinal contest.

DES MOINES — The Emmetsburg girls dropped a heartbreaking 45-42 decision to Denver here Tuesday night in the Class 2A quarterfinals.

Up by eight at the half, the E-Hawks were unable to regroup after the Cyclones took control in the third quarter.

With the win, Denver (23-2 overall) advances to the semifinals back here inside Casey’s Center on Friday vs. defending champion Hinton (21-1) at 10 a.m.

Emmetsburg (23-3) was back in the elite eight for the first time since 1999, but showed no signs of big-stage jitters, racing out to a 19-9 lead when Rachel Schany sank a 3-pointer with just over two minutes to play in the first half.

Schany finished with 16 points, Kylie Hoffman added 11 and Calista Joyce finished with nine. Schany, though, was held to just three in the second half, as Denver forced the issue and solved the 1-3-1 zone defense implored by the E-Hawks.

Channing Johnson finished with a game-high 22 points, knocking down four 3-pointers, to lead Denver. She also had 11 rebounds, as Brilee Ackerson scored nine points and Mylee Thurm tallied eight with 10 boards.

After committing 10 turnovers in the first half, the Cyclones had just five over the final 16 minutes. A 10-2 run in the third erased the halftime deficit for Denver, as Ackerson put them up, 29-25, with a triple.

The Cyclones outscored the E-Hawks in the third, 21-7, taking a six-point edge into the final quarter. Johnson and Ackerson scored 19 of the 21 in the third, going 7-for-10 from the field with five made triples.

Emmetsburg, though, did not go away quietly, as Joyce knocked down a 3-pointer of her own to tie it at 34-all with just over four minutes to play. Hoffman’s triple less than a minute later gave Emmetsburg the lead, but Johnson came up clutch with a putback after a rebound off her missed free throw.

Thurm scored the go-ahead points for Denver and Mullihan sealed the deal with two free throws.

The game marked the final time in an E-Hawk jersey for seniors Hoffman, Joyce, Ella Auten, Nora Nelson and Schany.

DENVER 45, EMMETSBURG 42

Emmetsburg — Dylan Fiene 1-7 2-2 4, Kylie Hoffman 5-12 0-0 11, Calista Joyce 3-10 0-0 9, Nora Nelson 0-4 2-2 2, Rachel Schany 6-12 1-1 16, Ella Auten 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 15-46 5-5 42.

Denver — Mylee Thurm 4-7 0-0 8, Brilee Ackerson 3-8 0-2 9, Grace Mullihan 0-7 4-4 4, Channing Johnson 8-18 2-4 22, Bailey Mullihan 1-4 0-0 2, Lexie Benham 0-2 0-0 0, Elise Rickets 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 16-47 6-10 45.

Quarter scores: Emmetsburg led 12-7, 21-13; Denver led 34-28. Three-point goals: Emmetsburg 7-26 (Fiene 0-2, Hoffman 1-5, Joyce 3-8, Nelson 0-4, Schany 3-6, Auten 0-1), Denver 7-23 (Ackerson 3-6, G. Mullihan 0-3, Johnson 4-10, B. Mullihan 0-1, Benham 0-2, Rickets 0-1). Total rebounds: Emmetsburg 23, Denver 40. Assists: Emmetsburg 7, Denver 11. Turnovers: Emmetsburg 8, Denver 15.