Thursday’s game between Mayer Lutheran and Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart was a tale of two teams in different spots in their development.
The Mustangs entered as a young group on the rise. Meanwhile, the Crusaders have worked past those growing pains and have become a team ranked No. 6 in Class 1A by Minnesota Basketball News.
On Thursday, Mayer Lutheran showed the value of an experienced group as the Crusaders rolled to an 83-54 victory in their final home game of the regular season.
Despite losing by 29 points on Thursday, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (19-6, 11-4) has not been an easy opponent on any front and have improved drastically from a 10-16 record a season ago.
Mayer Lutheran capped off its home schedule on Thursday in a big way. The Crusaders relied on a group effort on both ends of the floor and cruised to victory as they bested Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 83-54 at Mayer Lutheran High School.
Mayer Lutheran (21-5, 10-4) had success with a pair of big runs in each half. The first was a 16-2 run in the first half. Later, the Crusaders rattled off an 18-2 run in the second half.
In the first half, Mayer Lutheran senior guard Brooke Paulsrud led the way with 10 points for the Crusaders, ranked No. 6 in Class 1A by Minnesota Basketball News.
In the second half, senior guard Paige Stahlke found herself as the leading scorer with nine points.
Guards Morgan Chmielewski and Emma Lade were consistent offensive threats in both halves as they each had a team-high 15 points. Sophomore forward Julia Carns and senior guard Lexi Schermann were the other two Mayer Lutheran players in double figures.
The Mustangs (19-6, 11-4) had trouble keeping up with the high-powered Crusaders. Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart’s best answer was sophomore guard Maddy Wulkan, who was the lone Mustang in double figures with 17 points.
The MN Girls' Basketball Hub poll is for entertainment purposes only.