A 26-6 halftime lead proved to be big enough for the Hamilton Broncs Thursday at the Maroon Activities Center. (Stats)

But just barely.

Frenchtown stormed back to make a game of it, but Hamilton held on to win the battle of the Broncs 37-27. The game was the opener of the Southwestern A District girls’ basketball tournament.

Mariola Tesoro and Jorden Taggart each scored seven points to lead Hamilton, which will play No. 1 seed Corvallis in Friday’s 5 p.m. semifinal. Lauren Ryter scored six points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Claire Bagnell scored 12 points and pulled down six boards to lead Frenchtown, which heads to a Saturday morning loser-out game at the MAC. Kiya Shelton added eight points and nine rebounds.