Myla Eastman (21) gets open for a shot during BEA’s game against Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons.

The final girls game of the Blue Earth Area Holiday Basketball Tournament saw the St. James Saints taking on the BEA Buccaneers. The Saints had won their first game of the tournament by a 70-40 score over Sibley East while the Bucs dropped their opening game to Alden-Conger/Glenville Emmons 55-51.

The Saints were red hot from the outside against the Bucs and made 11 shots from behind the arc. Coupled with their distinct height advantage, St. James had too many weapons for BEA to contend with and marched home with a 74-31 victory.

St. James connected on three 3-pointers in the opening three minutes of the contest to race to a 15-2 lead against BEA.

By the time the buzzer sounded ending the opening half, the Saints were in front of the Bucs 39-15.

St. James kept shooting the ball well in the second stanza while continuing to increase their advantage over the Bucs and the game finished in running time.

Leading scorer for BEA was Lola Lundquist with 16 points followed by Jessica Moore with five.

BEA will host Belle Plaine on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

AC/GE 55, BEA 51

The Alden-Conger/ Glenville-Emmons Knights and the Blue Earth Area Buccaneers girls basketball teams met on the first day of the BEA Holiday Basketball Tournament on Friday, Dec. 27.

After being tied at halftime, the Knights outscored the Bucs by four points in the second half to claim a 55-51 victory.

BEA’s Lola Lundquist came into the contest needing eight points to reach 1,000 career points and she achieved the milestone seven and a half minutes into the game.

The Knights struck first with a basket from outside the arc to take a 3-0 lead. Lundquist tied the score with her own 3-pointer and then put BEA ahead 5-3 when she successfully converted two foul shots.

Another 3-pointer by AC/GE put them back in front 6-5 but BEA’s Myla Eastman swished a shot from just inside the three-point line to give the Bucs a 7-6 lead.

Lundquist found Jessica Moore alone under the hoop for an easy basket and Eastman sank a long-3-pointer to make the score 12-5 in favor of the Maroon and Gold.

Emersen Weir’s steal and layup made it 14-6 before Lundquist made a 3-pointer to reach the 1,000 point plateau and increase BEA’s advantage to 17-6 with 10:31 to play in the first half.

Lundquist found the range again, this time from the corner of the free throw line and the Bucs extended their lead to 19-6 midway through the first half.

The Knights regrouped and reeled off eight consecutive points to narrow the Bucs’ lead to 19-14.

BEA’s Grace Schavey found Moore for a close range basket to end AC/GE’s run and put the Bucs up by seven at 21-14 with 5:40 remaining until intermission.

The Knights kept closing the gap and eventually took a 28-27 lead with one minute to play before the end of the opening stanza.

A 3-pointer by Schavey returned the Bucs to the lead at 30-28. However, the Knights made one more shot before the buzzer sounded to tie the game at 30 all at the half.

The second half saw the Knights outscore the Bucs 9-2 in the opening minutes to take a 39-32 lead.

AC/GE was still leading by seven points with 6:59 remaining in the game before BEA scored eight straight points to regain the advantage for the first time in the second half.

Trailing 45-38, the Bucs used a 3-pointer by Weir, a free throw by Lundquist, a basket from outside the arc by Eastman and a free throw by Moore to lead 46-45 with four minutes showing on the scoreboard clock.

BEA held onto their one point lead until there was 2:38 remaining in the game.

AC/GE’s senior guard, Vivian Grunzke proved to be the difference maker in the closing minutes. She made eight of her team’s last 10 points, all on free throws.

Grunzke’s free throw with 33 seconds left to play elevated the Knights’ lead to 53-48 before a 3-pointer by Schavey with 19 seconds left brought the Bucs within two points of their opponent.

BEA fouled Grunzke with 14 seconds left and she made both free throw shots to give AC/GE the 55-51 victory.

Eastman led the Bucs in scoring with 15 points followed by Lundquist with 13 and Moore with nine.