The No. 12 seeded Southland girls basketball team upset No. 5 Houston (22-5 overall) with a 63-41 win on the road in a Section 1A tournament opener Thursday.

McKendry Kennedy poured in 30 points for the Rebels (7-16 overall), who will take on No. 4 Grand Meadow in Mayo Civic Center Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

“Our first half defense was dominating and we were really suffocating them,” Southland head coach Dean Bendtsen said.

Southland 27  36  —  63

Houston 14  27  —  41

Southland scoring: McKendry Kennedy, 30; Larissa Goslee, 9; Jenna Bentzin, 6; Kayla Nelsen, 6; Lexi Smith, 6; Kelsey Mensink, 4; Chelsey Kasel, 2; free throws: 75 percent (14-for-21)