An aggressive Mankato West girls basketball team used an impressive 26-0 burst late in the first half Tuesday to overwhelm Albert Lea 69-30 in a Big Nine Conference game at the West gym.
West (2-1 overall, 1-1 in Big Nine) took a 15-6 advantage when 5-foot-5 junior guard Ella Mullenbach drained a right-side 3-pointer and 10-foot jumper. After Kayla Johnson’s layup ended a three-minute Tigers’ drought, sophomore guard Livi Downs’ transition basket began the surge that ended on senior guard Madelyn Bode’s layup off a Downs assist.
In between, the Scarlets rode the hot hand of Mullenbach, who hit a pair of long-range 3-pointers, along with two slicing drives to the cup. Downs hit a triple and hoops from Bode and sophomore forward Romo Smith provided a 41-20 halftime cushion. Mullenbach, who finished with seven 3-pointers en route to a game-high 30 points, dropped through 19 first-half points. Downs and Smith added nine and seven points, respectively.
“One thing we stress every day at practice is defense so it was nice to see our girls come out and play with intensity,” West coach Dustin Wright said. “We were able to cause some chaos and create easy offense for us.
“I was happy with the way we moved the ball at times. We settle too early for those 3-point shots so we need to work on getting more inside touches. Defensively, we really turned it up and that defensive intensity led to some easy shots on the offensive end.”
Mullenbach nailed back-to-back triples early in the second half as the Scarlets expanded their lead to 55-18 on a 12-footer by Mullenbach. West, which won the boards 45-35 and committed fewer turnovers 32-13, ended up connecting on 29 of 70 from the field for 41.4% compared to the Tigers’ 13 of 44 for 29.5%.
“We worked very hard during that stretch while using a lot of teamwork,” Smith, who totaled 13 points and a team-best eight rebounds, said. “We were all playing aggressive on the defensive end and I feel we were all connected down low. These girls are so fun to play with and I love showing up for practice every day. … Everybody has their own skill and is able to bring something to the team.”
Mullenbach, a transfer from Minnesota Valley Lutheran, nailed her final two 3-pointers down the stretch while also collecting five steals in the contest. Downs tallied nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and eight steals for the winners, who also received seven rebounds from Bode.
“I think we ran the ball pretty well and our passes were sharper,” Mullenbach said. “Sure, I can make some shots but overall it’s all about being a team. They struggled against our press right away so we got off to a good head start which really benefited us. … I try to bring energy and hustle while trying to be the best team player I can be. I don’t want to play for myself, I want to play for my team.”
West hosts Owatonna Friday.