The Blue Earth Area girls basketball team lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Maple River Eagles, 44-42 on Thursday, Dec. 21. Earlier in the year on Dec. 16, the Bucs were on the winning end of a 58-53 final against the Eagles.

In the previous matchup between these two teams, BEA’s Caitlin Rorman helped the Bucs get off to a hot start and ended the game with a career-high 35 points. This time around however, the Bucs struggled throughout the game scoring from the field. In fact, BEA’s shooting percentage of 29.4 percent was 10 percent lower than their opponent. Their woes from the field were especially obvious from beyond the arc as the Bucs hoisted up 28 three point attempts, connecting on just six of those shots.

However, BEA was able to stay within striking range because of sound ball movement which produced a total of 14 assists on the evening. The Bucs also improved their ball security, an area of concern in previous games this year. By committing just 13 turnovers in the contest, Maple River struggled to put away the determined Buccaneers.

Overall, Bucs head coach was pleased with his team’s intensity, and commitment to defense. These qualities have made the Bucs extremely competitive this year, regardless of the final outcome.

“Our defense has been pretty consistent throughout the season,” Cue said. “Unfortunately, we just could not get the ball in the basket.”

Rorman paced the Buccaneers with a team-high 24 points. Meanwhile, Hannah Johnson stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal for the Bucs.