The Mankato West girls’ basketball team used a game-opening 22-0 burst Tuesday night to coast past Albert Lea 57-21 in a Big Nine Conference contest at the West gym.
West, which has won four of its last five games to climb to 8-9 overall and 5-4 in the Big Nine, exploded for 15 points in five minutes before closing out the half on a 19-2 run to take a commanding 45-8 lead. With the damage done, the Scarlets took off their pressure defense and played their reserves liberally over the final 18 minutes.
“Our quick start came from our 1-3-1 press,” West coach Gretchen Keefe said. “We really went after every loose ball and put a ton of pressure on their guards which caused them to turn it over. We were also able to steal a bunch of skip passes which allowed us to get transition going to the basket.
“I felt our transition and just bringing the ball up the floor is really coming together. Everybody was able to get in the game and that’s always fun to see. These girls work hard every day in practice so when they get a chance to put it all together on the floor they’re learning. We’re playing better together as a team and with Livi (Downs) bringing her positivity back, everyone is playing more confident.”
Senior guard Ella Mullenbach and Downs nailed 3-pointers to get things started before senior guard Avery Schmitz’s two layups made it 10-0. Mullenbach’s 3-pointer, junior forward Romo Smith’s inside basket, along with Downs’ three-pointer expanded the margin to 18-0 before Smith’s two follow-up hoops capped the early onslaught.
“We came out strong and really worked on our plays,” Smith, who scored all of her 15 points in the first half, said. “It was a fun night and I think we all had that high energy which made us look like we knew what we were doing. We’ve boosted things up a notch lately by getting stronger, faster and smarter. … We’re all more connected and we’re building more team chemistry.”
Senior forward Rachel Younge put through a trio of baskets before Smith’s right-side 3-pointer and Najima Hassan’s layup off the Tigers’ 22nd turnover closed the half out. Downs ended up with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the winners, who also received six points and five assists from Schmitz.
“We knew we had to play up to our level and not go down,” Younge said. “We have some big games coming up so working together as a team and finding each other on the court is a good start. We got a lot of steals and we made some good passes to get our transition going. Getting Livi back is huge and now we’re starting to learn how to play better every game. … We have a lot of fun and we’re very close.”
Nevaeh Wacholz led the Tigers (2-15, 1-11) with 11 points while Aliyah Heideman chipped in nine.
West hosts Owatonna Thursday.