Lindsey Norman, a junior center for the Blue Earth Area Buccaneers, leaps for a layup against Medford on Saturday, Jan. 14. The maroon and gold fell to New Ulm Friday, but BEA stormed back with a big win over Medford before hosting Fairmont.

Fresh off a 21-point loss at the hands of a streaking New Ulm squad, the Blue Earth Area girls avenged their Friday night woes with a Saturday night blowout Jan. 14, coasting to 34 first-half points and a 61-25 victory over Medford in their second biggest win of the 2016-17 season.

“The girls really put together a great game,” said BEA coach Al Cue. “Offensively, we were patient and got good shots consistently (and) defensively, we were consistently good.”

Sophomore guard Sidney Blair, who has seen more time off the bench in recent weeks, had 10 points in the opening 18 minutes for the Buccaneers, and her early success was indicative of BEA as a whole against the Tigers. First-half threes by Blair, sophomore forward Caitlin Rorman and senior guard Samantha Barslou helped guide the maroon and gold, who had just eight points less than all of their Friday performance through one half.

Defense was key in the Bucs’ rout, too, as 15 rebounds and a trio of steals through the first half left Medford with just eight points on the board heading into the break. The 36-point deficit was the largest built by BEA since the team’s 72-20 romp over St. James on Jan. 5.

The visiting Tigers more than doubled their first-half total down the stretch, adding 17 points throughout the remainder of the contest. But the damage had already been done by that point, and an additional 27 second-half points by the Buccaneers sealed BEA’s victory, which snapped a two-game losing streak and propelled the girls into a third straight home game on Tuesday.

Nailing all but two of their 16 free throw tries, the Bucs were led by Rorman (15 points) and Blair (14 points), but a number of others got in on the big win.

Barslou and senior guard Brittany Johnson each had seven points against Medford, while junior center Lindsey Norman finished with six points and three rebounds to go along with one of the Bucs’ five second-half steals.

Junior forward Sofie Blair, meanwhile, led the team with six boards. And six other players scored as the maroon and gold captured their first “W” in nearly 10 days.

New Ulm 63, BEA 42

Entering Blue Earth Area High School with a near-impeccable record, New Ulm kept its Big South Conference climb intact despite occasional pushback from the Buccaneers, topping BEA 63-42 on Friday, Jan. 13.

A day before they would have a pair of sophomore standouts eclipse double-digit point totals, the Bucs did not have a single player score more than seven against the visiting Eagles on Friday, fighting toward the end of a back-and-forth first half but ultimately falling well behind New Ulm’s quick-scoring attack.

“This was a very tough game for us,” said BEA head coach Al Cue. “New Ulm is a strong team, they really bothered us with their press and half-court zone (and) we turned the ball over too much, which led to many easy baskets for them.”

A handful of and-one calls enabled the Eagles to pounce on building a sizable lead in the early goings, and before long, the Bucs found themselves trailing 22-4. A couple of errant passes, which sailed right into the arms of New