The Blue Earth Area girls basketball team tallied another win when the Maple River Eagles visited BEA?last Tuesday.

The Buccaneers defeated their opponents by 34, with the final score at 58-24.

“The girls played well overall,”?coach Al Cue says.

They took a 20-point lead before the halftime buzzer sounded. The scoreboard read 34-14 at the end of the first half.

Krista Hassing led the team in scoring in the beginning of the game with a total of 14 points. She scored 5 of 10 two-point baskets and was 4 of 6 at the free-throw line.

She also had two rebounds on offense and

two on defense.

Janessa Jahnke brought in six points for the Bucs in the first half with 3 of 4 shots for a 75 percent accuracy rate.

Jenna Stevermer also contributed points for the Bucs’ strong lead. She was 2 for 5 with two-point attempts and made one free-throw shot, totaling five points.

Kaitlyn Olsen had six steals and sank a two-point shot and Whitney Pirsig was quick to grab rebounds in the first half. She had two on offense and three on defense.

In the first half, the Bucs grabbed a total of 18 rebounds and 10 steals. They were also accurate at the free-throw line and made 6 of ten foul shots.

The Eagles turned the ball over 13 times, while the Bucs only had six turnovers.

The second half of the game was just as successful for the girls in maroon and gold.

They brought in 24 additional points and left their opponents in the dust with just 10.

Karli Olsen was on her game in the second half bringing in five points for the Bucs.

She was 1 of 1 on her two-points shots, 1 of 2 for three-pointers and 2 of three at the free-throw line.

Taylor Grandgenett tallied four points in the second half. She was 2 for 3 with her two-point attempts for a 67 percent accuracy rate. She also had two assists and one steal.

Paige Darrington also scored four points in the second half with two two-point shots.

As a team, the Bucs grabbed 12 rebounds, four offensive and 8 defensive. They also had six steals.

BEA only had six turnovers as a team unlike the Eagles who had 11 turnovers in the second half.

“The defense was pretty good in both halves and shot selection was better,”?coach Cue says.

Hassing had a game total of 16 points with 6 of 11 baskets and 4 of 6 at the free-throw line.

She also grabbed four rebounds, three steals and three assists.

Grandgenett racked up a total of 10 points by the end of the game. She was 5 of 7 for two-point attempts for a 71 percent accuracy rate.

She also had two assists and two rebounds.

Stevermer had seven points with three baskets and one free throw. She also had three offensive rebounds.

Jahnke had six points, three rebounds and two steals.

The Bucs grabbed 30 rebounds in the game, 14 on offense and 16 on defense. They also had 10 assists and 16 steals.

The Eagles had a total of 24 turnovers which was double the 12 that the Bucs had.

The girls play again on Friday, Feb. 15 when they travel to take on Martin County West.

BEA 56, St. James 22

After being defeated by New Hartland-Richland-Ellendale-Geneva last Thursday, the Buccaneers were ready to score some points and make up for the loss.

The Blue Earth Area girls basketball team did just that when they hosted the St. James Saints on Friday, Feb. 8.

The Bucs defeated the Saints by a final score of 56-22.

They managed to rack up 41 points in the first half of the game and left the visitors trailing far behind with just 16.

The tip off went to the Bucs which started the game in their favor. It allowed Whitney Pirsig to take a shot from under the basket and score the first points of the game.

Janessa Jahnke came up with the next two-point shot after rebounding an unsuccessful shot by the Saints.

With the score at 8-0, a Saints player stepped up to the foul line for two shots, but missed both.

The Bucs rebounded and Pirsig made another basket.

The Saints didn’t get a point on the board until one of their players was fouled and they were given two more shots at the line. They made their first and missed their second making the score 11-1.

Kaitlyn Olsen got her chance for two free-throw shots. Both tries were successful which helped the Bucs to continue the lead, 17-5.

BEA continued to make their baskets and steal the ball from their opponents during the first half of the game.

And, their opponents continued to turnover the ball.

As the game neared halftime, the score was at 37-13 in the Bucs’ favor.

With just seconds left, Julia Beckius of St. James shot and successfully scored a three-point basket.

However, the Bucs responded quickly, before the clock ran out, to get the last shot of the first half, which made the score 41-16.

By halftime, Krista Hassing brought in 18 points for BEA. She had seven two-point shots and was 4 of 4 at the free-throw line for a 100 percent accuracy rate.

She also had three steals and grabbed seven rebounds, two on offense and five on defense.

Jahnke scored seven points which came in the form of three two-pointers and one free-throw shot.

Pirsig was 3 for 4 with her baskets for a 75 percent accuracy rate. She also had four steals.

As a team, BEA brought in 15 rebounds in the first half; six on offense and nine on defense. They also had 12 steals.

The second half started with a shot by the Bucs, followed by two free-throw shots made by Pirsig.

Then Jahnke sank a two pointer to bump the score to 45-17.

After a couple scoreless trips up and down the court, Taylor Grandgenett rebounded the ball from a missed shot attempt by the Saints and took the ball down the court for a basket.

St. James responded with a two pointer of their own which put the score at 47-20.

The Bucs scored two more baskets and a free-throw shot during the second half.

The game ended with one final shot which put the score at 56-22 in the Bucs favor.

In the second half, Hassing scored five points, two two-pointers and one free-throw shot.

Pirsig was 2 for 2 with her baskets for a 100 percent accuracy.

Grandgenett, Jahnke and Olsen all contributed two points a piece in the second half.

Hassing was the top scorer by the end of the game with a total of 23 points; nine two-point baskets and five free throws.

She had nine rebounds, three on offense and six on defense. She also had three steals.

Pirsig brought in 10 points. She was 5 of 6 with her two-point shots for an 83 percent accuracy rate. She also had four steals and three rebounds.

Jahnke contributed nine points in the form of four two pointers and one free throw. Olsen scored eight points with two baskets and four from the free-throw line.

As a team, the Bucs had 15 offensive rebounds, 16 defensive rebounds and 16 steals.