By Mark Murdock

WATERLOO — The defense held the fort until the shooting touch returned.

Then the DeKalb girls unleashed a flurry of three three-pointers in a row to grab control of the game late in the third quarter, and went on a 58-37 win over North Side in the first round of the Class 4A sectional Tuesday.

With their first postseason victory since 2010, the Barons advanced to Friday’s first semifinal at 6 p.m. against Snider. DeKalb (13-10) is now assured of its first winning season since 2013-14.

Freshman Makaya Harmeyer opened the second half with a three for the Legends (7-16), who had trailed by as many as 15 in the first half and 12 at the break. They cut the lead to 30-22.

The Barons managed just one field goal in the first 5 1/2 minutes after intermission, a steal and layup by Lillie Cone. Then Delaney Cox, Evie Pepple and Cone combined to hit three straight threes with Ashley Cox’s steal leading to a basket in between, and the hosts led 45-23 by the time the quarter was over.

Cone led a balanced DeKalb attack with 17 points, Delaney Cox had 15 and Ashley Cox scored 12. The Baron defense also had a hand in 22 turnovers by the Legends, with Cone and Ashley Cox each making five steals.

Delaney Cox and Ashley Cox had eight rebounds each and Elizabeth Martin had seven assists.

Harmeyer and Ja’liyah Paige had 12 points each to pace North Side.

North Side scored the first four points out of the gate, but scored just one point the rest of the first quarter and trailed 16-5 at the first stop. Cone hit two threes and accounted for half the Baron total in that quarter.

DeKalb got the lead as high as 28-13 in the second quarter on a three by Ashley Cox before settling for a 30-18 advantage at halftime.