Top-seeded Li, No. 2 Noh in quarterfinals

Lucy Li and Yealimi Noh each had a long, successful Thursday in the U.S. Girls Junior Championship at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach.

Li, of Redwood City, won three matches to reach Friday’s quarterfinals in the fog-delayed event. She rallied from backnine deficits to win her first two matches, then built an early lead and held on for a 1-up victory over Amari Avery of Riverside in the round of 16. Li prevailed despite making only one birdie.

Noh, of Concord, took a different path to the quarterfinals. She didn’t trail on the back nine in any of three matches, culminating with a 3-and-2 win over Taylor Roberts of Parkland, Fla.

Li, 15, is the top seed in match play. She posted 11-under-par in 36 holes of stroke play earlier this week, five shots ahead of Noh, age 16 and the No. 2 seed. They led the pack in a field of 156 girls vying for the age 18-andunder national championship.

Li rallied from a 2-down deficit after nine holes in her second-round match against Jing Wen Lu of China. Li won No. 10 with a birdie, then won four consecutive holes by making par (Nos. 13 through 16) to secure a 3-and-2 victory.

In her first-round match Thursday morning, Li made birdie on No. 18 to earn a 1-up victory over Cory Lopez of Mexico. Their match had been suspended Wednesday night.

Noh finished off a 4-and-2 win over Ela Anacona of Argentina on Thursday morning, then came back in the afternoon and eliminated Calynne Rosholt of Cedar Park, Texas (2-and-1).

Three other Bay Area players — Madelyn Gamble of Pleasant Hill, Katherine Zhu of San Jose and Ashely Shim of San Mateo — advanced to match play but lost in the first round.