They were sick. They were tired. But mostly, the Jefferson girls basketball team was sick and tired of losing and they played like it Wednesday night.

Sophomore Taylor Jacobson, who is battling a case of mononucleosis, scored 14 of her 17 points in the second half to lead Jefferson past Dubuque Senior, 66-54, in a Class 4A regional quarterfinal game at Jefferson.

“I got a little tired but I pushed through it,” Jacobson said. “I wanted to win so bad.”

Jefferson's prize for beating Senior is a game against second-ranked Linn-Mar (19-2) Saturday night at Linn-Mar. The Lions had a bye in the quarterfinal round.

“I think we can do it,” Jacobson said.” We have to shut down Kiah (Stokes) but it is not an impossible game (to win).”

“You always look forward to moving ahead,” Coach Larry Niemeyer said.

“We will go out and try our best like we do every game,” sophomore Rachel Broghammer said. “Hopefully things click.”

Things clicked for the J-Hawks (8-14) against Senior (6-16).

The J-Hawks came out in the first quarter and slowly built an 11-6 lead. Senior, which missed its first nine shots of the game and shot 14 percent in the first quarter, warmed up to shoot 50 percent in the second. The Rams ended the half with six 3-pointers.

Despite J-Hawks leading scorer Jacobson not having a field goal in the half, Jefferson’s offense went point for point with the Rams. The J-Hawks shot 89 percent in the second quarter. Broghammer scored 12 of her game-high 22 points in the half to help the J-Hawks take a 30-27 lead into the break.

“It was definitely one of my better games this season,” said Broghammer, who recently returned to the court after sitting out several games because of a concussion. “They took Tay’s (Jacobson) drive away so I was able to drive.”

Kaitlyn Davidson scored five points during the J-Hawks' 8-0 run to start the second half. Senior held tough, though, and Jefferson's lead was just eight heading into the final quarter.

Senior started the fourth with a 7-0 run that narrowed Jefferson's lead to one with about five minutes to play. The J-Hawks countered with a 5-0 run of their own to regain control. With just over two minutes to play, Jacobson hit a pair of free throws to extend the J-Hawks' lead to 10. From there, the J-Hawks took care of the ball and made their free throws to secure the win.

Senior Britteny Steffeny added 14 points for the J-Hawks.

DUBUQUE SENIOR (54): Kristie Sommer 1 2-4 5, Taylor Noel 4 0-0 11, Alisa Williams 1 0-0 2, Nakiah Kimble 3 0-0 8, Andrea Medinger 5 2-2 10, Natalie Jacobsmeier 0 0-0 0, Liz Reuter 1 0-0 3, Nakhyla Powell 1 1-4 3, Katie Sommers 5 0-0 12, Tia Tigges 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 5-10 54.

JEFFERSON (66): Kaitlyn Davidson 4 1-1 10, Ashley Madsen 0 0-3 0, Taylor Jacobson 4 10-13 17, Rachel Broghammer 9 4-8 22, Britteny Steffeny 7 0-0 14, Danielle Stromert 1 0-1 2, Madeline Koolbeck 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 15-26 66.

Halftime -- Jefferson 30, Senior 27. 3 point goals – Senior 9 (Kr.Sommers, Noel 3, Kimble 2, Rueter, Ka.Sommers 2), Jefferson 1 (Davidson). Rebounds – Senior 22, Jefferson 22. Turnovers – Senior 18, Jefferson 20. Team Fouls – Senior 25, Jefferson 13. Fouled out – Noel, Kimble, Steffeny.