NEW ULM — Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart behind an aggressive defense as the Mustangs cruised to a 78-37 victory in a Tomahawk Conference girls basketball game Saturday afternoon at Cathedral High School. It was too much for New Ulm Cathedral to overcome.
The Mustangs were led by Lily Hubin with 23 points, Rachel Kottke added 20 points and Jamie Novotny added 10 points. Christy Kottke also added nine points for the Mustangs.
Jenna Hotbeck paced the Greyhounds with 12 points, all on 3-pointers, and Ashlyn Hillesheim had six points off the bench.
Even though the Greyhounds took the lead with a Hotbeck 3, BLHS scored the next four baskets, largely due to takeaways in a full-court press. Three of his baskets fell from Rachel Kottke’s hands.
Maddie Gill’s step-back 3 put the Greyhounds down 8-6, but they quickly responded with an 8-0 run to put the Mustangs ahead 16-6.
Gill and Shea Wilfahrt each added free throws to stop BLHS from scoring, but it was far from the last big run the Mustangs got in the game. Hubin and Elaina Bergstrom then hit buckets in the paint to start a 19-0 run for the Mustangs, extending their lead to 35-9 late in the second half.
The Greyhounds stopped the Mustangs’ run with a pair of bonus free throws by Olivia Macho, but Hubin made a 3 and a layup to give BLHS a 40-11 lead at halftime.
Hubin’s two points led to an overall 17-0 run and a 52-11 lead into the second half before Hillesheim broke through the baseline with 13:02 left and Cathedral fielded for the first time since Gilles’ early three points. I scored a goal.
A 10-0 run late in the second half gave the Mustangs a 62-13 lead, but a 3-pointer from Cathedral’s Jade Altermat stopped the run.
Hotbeck hit three consecutive 3s for the Greyhounds in the closing stages to put his team within 75-31, but the damage was done at that point and the Mustangs won.
BLHS led with up to 53 players.
BLHS (3-2, 2-1) hosts Springfield on Jan. 2, while Cathedral (3-4, 1-1) plays a nonconference game against Cleveland on Tuesday night.