The girls from Blue Earth Area squared off against a formidable foe on the hardwood at home last Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, that opponent proved to be too much for the Bucs to handle.

The Martin County West Mavericks (4-1) dominated BEA (3-2) for most of the game, en route to a 48-22 win. Early in the ballgame, the Bucs actually controlled the tempo, getting out to 19-15 lead late in the first half.

After the strong start, BEA’s offense went ice cold for the rest of the game. In fact, the Bucs only managed to convert one field goal and one free throw for the final 22 minutes of the game.

Ball security issues only added to their woes on offense. Blue Earth Area committed 25 turnovers in the game, seven more than Martin County West.

Production at the free throw line was another area of concern as the Bucs shot just 33 percent at the charity stripe on only nine attempts for the game.

Despite the offensive struggles, Bucs head coach Al Cue believes his defense competed hard throughout the evening. All told, Cue was happy with holding MCW to 48 points for the game.

“Our defense stayed pretty consistent for us,” Cue explained. “We held them to a score that would typically give us a chance to win. We just could not get the ball in the basket.”

Junior Caitlin Rorman led the Buccaneers in scoring with eight points on the evening. Hannah Johnson also added five points.

On Friday, Dec. 15, Blue Earth Area hit the road for the Maple River Invitational. In total, four teams took part in the two-day tournament. Results will be available in next week’s edition of the Faribault County Register.