South Central Calhoun capitalized on its size to win in the state tournament for the first time.

The sixth-ranked Titans took the lead for good with a 10-0 run late in the first half and went on to a 64-50 victory over No. 4 IKM-Manning in a first-round Class 2A game.

With a frontline of 6-foot-1 Kori Assman, 6-foot Haley Birks and 5-11 Tyffaney Toms, South Central Calhoun got inside for numerous close-in shots while frustrating the Wolves when they got close to the basket. The Titans outrebounded IKM-Manning 41-29 and held the Wolves to 21 percent shooting in the second half.

Assman led the winners with 17 points, Birks scored 16 and Micheala Graffunder added 13 to go with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Toms had eight points and nine rebounds.

South Central Calhoun led 35-31 at halftime, then rattled off 10 straight points early in the second half to open a 45-32 lead. The lead grew to 56-42 before a mini-run drew IKM-Manning to 58-50 with just under 2 minutes remaining.

But the Wolves got no closer and South Central Calhoun wrapped it up by making 11 of 15 free throws.

South Central Calhoun lost in the first round of last year's tournament, its first appearance as a combined program. Now the Titans (23-2) are in the semifinals. They'll play top-ranked Unity Christian at 11:45 a.m. Thursday.

IKM-Manning (24-2) played much of the second half without leading scorer Morgan Muhlbauer, who fouled out in the third quarter. Muhlbauer, who was averaging 17 points a game, had eight points and 10 rebounds in the final game of a fine career during which she scored more than 1,000 points.

Andy Nulle led the Wolves with 12 points and Kia Rasmussen scored nine.