The Luverne girls’ basketball team posted its first postseason win in 13 years when the Cardinals opened the South Section 3AA Tournament Saturday.Luverne, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, entertained No. 8 St. James to open the event.The Cards overcame a sluggish start early in the game to register a 61-38 victory, which was the program’s first tournament conquest since 2007.The win sends 18-9 LHS to Worthington Thursday, where it plays Jackson County Central in a semifinal-round game at 6 p.m.St. James looked ready to play early in Saturday’s contest.The Saints sported a 6-2 lead early in the game and sported a 17-11 advantage with 8:25 remaining in the first half.LHS turned things around by going on a 12-0 run ending with Brooklynn Ver Steeg sinking one free throw at the 4:52 mark of the stanza to give the hosts a 23-17 lead.One charity shot from Elizabeth Wagner gave the Cards a 27-19 lead with 3:12 left, and LHS still led by eight (30-22) when the first half was complete.Luverne’s Mallory Thorson canned a three-point shot 43 seconds into the second half to increase the lead to 13 points (35-22).The Saints closed the gap to nine points (37-28) as the half progressed, but that proved to be as close as they would come to catching LHS.Luverne assumed control of the contest by putting together a 16-3 run capped by Thorson sinking one charity shot to give the Cards a 53-31 cushion with 4:13 remaining.Thorson upped the lead to 23 points (59-36) with a layup at the 1:22 mark and the Cards went on to win the game by 23.Ver Steeg (24 points) and Thorson (21 points and seven steals) played key roles in the win.Christina Wagner added 10 rebounds and three steals to the winning effort. Box scoreC.Wagner 2 0 3-5 7, Beyer 1 0 1-2 3, Ver Steeg 4 3 7-10 24, E.Wagner 1 0 2-5 4, Thorson 7 1 4-6 21, Hart 0 0 0-0 0, Van Grootheest 0 0 0-0 0, Rud 0 0 0-0 0, Ferrell 0 0 0-0 0, Javner 0 0 0-0 0, Hansen 1 0 0-0 2. Team statisticsLuverne: 20 of 49 field goals (41 percent), 17 of 28 free throws (61 percent), 34 rebounds, 12 turnovers.St. James: 13 of 43 field goals (30 percent), six of nine free throws (67 percent), 28 rebounds, 27 turnovers.