Sofie Blair takes aim at the Fairmont defense on Feb. 27.

The Blue Earth Area girls basketball squad received an emotional boost from their home fans during their opening round playoff win over Fairmont this past Tuesday.

On Feb. 27, 2014 tragedy struck the BEA community as 16 year-old student-athlete Ethan Rorman, older brother of Buc basketball standout Caitlin Rorman, passed away due to an auto accident. In his memory, the hashtag #EthanStrong was created on social media by the Blue Earth Area community. The phrase has been a staple of the school’s culture ever since.

Fast forward to 2018, on the fourth anniversary of Ethan’s passing, Rorman and the Bucs hosted arch rival Fairmont in the quarter-final round of the Section 2 Class AA south sub-section playoff.

As BEA students and fans in attendance wore purple shirts with #EthanStrong printed across the front, Rorman believes the energy from the crowd helped propel the Bucs to a 54-34 victory.

“We always have a great fan section, they always come out and support us,” Rorman said after the game. “They have all these different chants and it really gets our team going.”

Caitlyn Rorman takes aim at the Fairmont defense on Feb. 27. The game happened to take place on the four-year anniversary of former Buccaneer student-athlete Ethan Rorman’s passing.

In the first half, Blue Earth Area’s trademark intensity and hustle on defense allowed the Bucs to seize control of the game. At intermission, the maroon and gold enjoyed a 24-15 lead over the Cardinals.

BEA’s pressure defense continued into the second half as well. Early in the period, senior Sophie Blair stole the ball in Fairmont’s front court, which helped set up a Lindsey Norman basket. Blair’s hustle to jump out of bounds and save the loose ball ignited the BEA home fans.

While Norman finished up with 11 points and four assists, Blair chipped in with seven points. Meanwhile, Rorman led all scorers with 17. Rorman credits her unique chemistry with Norman as a key contributor to BEA’s dominant second half.

“We were making really good passes to each other,” said Rorman. “Lindsey Norman and I were looking back and forth to each other when they were in their 2-3 zone, and the crowd kept going wild.”

All told, the Bucs outscored the Cardinals, 30-19 in the second half. Shooting 50 percent from the field for the game, the Buccaneers also accounted for 10 steals on the evening. The Bucs converted these turnovers into 18 additional points.

On Friday, March 2, the girls from Blue Earth Area traveled to Mankato East High School for a showdown with second seeded New Richland Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva. In their last meeting with New Richland on Feb. 20, BEA came out victorious at home, 46-36. Results from this game will be available in next week’s edition of the Faribault County Register.