The girls’ high school basketball postseason began on Thursday night in Class 1A and Paton-Churdan opened with a 51-27 victory in Coon Rapids over Coon Rapids-Bayard. Coach Chris Petersen’s Rockets improved to 12-9 on the season while the Crusaders end at 2-18.

Carleigh Paup had 18 points and five steals for P-C, while Sydney Koch added 11 points and five steals. Jenna Beyers had nine points, 13 rebounds, and five steals, and Grace Geisler scored eight points.

The Rockets move on to the Feb. 16 quarterfinal in Glidden vs. Glidden-Ralston, a team P-C is 0-2 against  this season.