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Logan • The Juan Diego girls couldn't be outdone.

They weren't.

The Soaring Eagle took down Union in a defensive slugfest 44-34 in a Class 3A girls' basketball quarterfinal to join the Juan Diego boys' team in the state semifinals.

Despite shooting under 33 percent from the floor (17 of 52), the Soaring Eagle grinded out a double-digit win by holding the Cougars to a lackluster 28 percent from the floor (15 of 53) and forcing 21 Cougars turnovers.

"I knew it was going to be a hard game," Juan Diego coach Tim Turpin said. "Every team that comes in here has done something to get here. We got a little sloppy at times and let them back in the game, but they're a good team and we were fortunate to get the win."

The game got off to an inauspicious start when both squads struggled to hit anything besides iron and backboard in the opening quarter. Juan Diego's Trista Vawdrey drained a buzzer-beating runner in the lane to give the Soaring Eagle a 9-8 lead after the opening period.

The second quarter saw the offenses open up a bit more as Juan Diego senior Tepora Hannemann went on her own 5-0 run. Hannemann, who finished tied for second in scoring with seven points, was by far the most efficient player on the court. The forward looked calm, took shots when she could and made two steals to go with two rebounds and a blocked shot.

"I'll come in and give anything that we're lacking," Hannemann said about her role off the bench. "I'll bring energy if we need it. I can be physical. If they need somebody to score, I can do that, too. I'll just pump everybody up and get us back in the game."

Her coach credited her with bringing a sense of calm on the court to the Soaring Eagle.

"She's a great asset," Turpin said. "She comes in the game and she can be a little erratic sometimes. It's hard to read her, and I think opponents have a hard time with that. She really gave us a spark today. She came into the game a little nervous like all kids at state do, but she really calmed down, hit a big shot and made some big defensive plays."

Union used a 6-0 run to cut the Juan Diego lead to 33-28 with 4:49 remaining, but turnovers haunted the Cougars. Their sloppiness with the ball led to an 8-2 follow-up run that put Juan Diego back up by double-digits.

"I never really felt like we lost control of the game," Turpin said. "These are games where you let teams get close, and that's what happened. But they came right out and turned up the intensity and really got after it right after that and put the game away."

Juan Diego advanced to play Carbon. The teams were supposed to play during the regular season, but it was canceled because of snow.

"We're going to have to play a much better game against Carbon," Turpin said.

Twitter: @TalonChappell

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Juan Diego 44, Union 34

• Juan Diego knocks out Union behind Brie Veltri's eight points, five rebounds and four steals.

• Juan Diego forces 21 Union turnovers in the low-scoring victory.

• Kennedy Ross leads Union with 10 rebounds and nine points.