Bucs claw Tigers, 58-42
After their first loss of the season in Waseca last Friday, the Buccaneer girls basketball team was ready to step up against Medford on Tuesday.
The Bucs traveled to Medford to defeat the Tigers, 58-42.
“The girls put together a pretty good game overall,” Coach Al Cue says.
BEA outscored Medford 29-19 in the first half of the game.
Krista Hassing scored 16 of those first half points. She made three two-pointers, one of two attempted three-pointers and seven of eight free-throws.
Hassing also grabbed seven rebounds in the first half, five on offense and two on defense.
Whitney Pirsig contributed some points in the first half by sinking two of five two-point shots and one three-pointer, totaling five points in the first half.
In the second half, the Bucs stayed consistent scoring another 29 points. Medford tried to play catch up but only managed 23 more points.
Kaitlyn Olsen scored a total of five in the second half with one two-pointer and one three-pointer.
Pirsig scored another five points. She was two for three for two-pointers and sunk one of two shots from the free-throw line.
Jenna Stevermer was also a contributer to the second-half score. She brought in five points with two two-pointers and one free-throw.
The Bucs had a team total of 11 assists and 34 rebounds, 16 offensive and 18 defensive.
“Our defensive intensity was very good all night,”?Coach Cue says.
The Tigers had 28 turnovers, 15 in the first half and 13 in the second.
“We forced a lot of turnovers and were able to take advantage and score some points,”?he adds.
The Bucs victory over the Tigers boosted their overall record to 5-1. They are currently 1-1 in the South Central Conference.
“We are making progress toward becoming a better team,”?the Bucs coach says.
Their home conference game against St. Peter was postponed due to a snowstorm.
Waseca, 52 BEA, 38
The Blue Earth Area girls basketball team took their first loss of the season when they were matched up against the Waseca Bluejays.
The Bucs were off to a good start this season with a 4-0 record until the Bluejays defeated them last Friday, Dec. 14, 52-38.
“The girls played very hard in this game and had a great effort,”?Coach Al Cue says.
BEA scored 16 points in the first half of the game and 22 in the second, totalling 38 points.
Waseca had an impressive 34 points in the first half which gave them a strong lead. They finished the second half scoring 18 more points with a total of 52.
Krista Hassing led the Bucs in scoring, tallying a total of 15 points. She scored six of 15 two-point attempts and three of four free-throw shots.
Hassing also had 11 rebounds, three on offense and eight on defense.
Karli Olsen tallied six points, scoring three of four two-point attempts at a 75 percent accuracy rate.
The Bucs had 28 turnovers during the game, which coach Cue says is what allowed the Bluejays their success.
“Waseca switched defenses a lot and each time it seemed to confuse us for a couple trips,” he says. “They took advantage and scored a lot of points off our turnovers.”
However, this is just the girls first loss of the year and the coach doesn’t feel discouraged.
“It was a learning opportunity for the girls,”?the Buc coach adds. “Hopefully, we will continue the positive things that happened and learn from the mistakes we made.”
This loss puts the Bucs at an overall record of 4-1 and a conference record of 1-1. Their previous game against New Ulm gave them their first conference victory.