Midway through the first half Saturday night, the Worthington Trojans girls basketball team found its rhythm.
And New Ulm found itself on the wrong side of a cascade of points.
Worthington held the Eagles to two field goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half, going on a 33-5 -- which extended into the early stages of the second half -- and pulled away to a 73-46 victory.
It was also a special night for the Worthington seniors -- Rachel Springman, Julie Ailts, Rebecca Brignac, Maria Boever and Ashley Debates -- who were playing their final regular-season home game. To make it better, all five seniors were in the starting lineup.
"It's a real good way to end the season, to end on a win, have everyone play," Boever said. "It's an awesome way to end the season.
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Boever also capped off her regular season with one of her best overall performances, with a game-high 35 points, along with 13 rebounds and five steals.
Which, listening to New Ulm head coach Dale Bannermann after the game, shouldn't have come as much of a surprise with his young club.
"We have a tendency to let one good player dominate action," he said.
Boever scored 22 points in the first half and helped spark the Worthington surge, one that followed a strong start by New Ulm's offense.
Showing no fear going against Worthington's pressure and a willingness to attack once they broke the press, the Eagles started off 7-of-10 from the field, and pulled out to a 15-6 lead.
The run came as no surprise to WHS head coach Eric Lindner.
"That's what a lot of teams are going to try to do because they know at some time we're going to get a run," Lindner said.
But the Trojans (19-3) cranked up the defensive pressure and quickly turned the momentum their way. New Ulm (4-15), after the hot start, only hit 3-of-13 shots to end the half and turned the ball over an astounding 23 times.
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"I was pretty happy with our defense," Lindner said. "We were always getting a hand on a pass."
The shooting did not get better in the second half as New Ulm went 6-for-31 in the final 18 minutes.
For the Trojans, Brignac also turned in a strong performance, tallying 16 points, seven rebounds and six steals. It was the continuation of a season where Brignac has developed into a scoring threat coming off the bench.
"My teammates have really pushed each other to make us better," Brignac said. "They just motivate me to get better."
Even in defeat, however, Bannermann came away happy with how his team played, especially Lis Wieneke. The sophomore -- making her first career start -- scored a team-high 10 points.
"We're taking baby steps with the program," Bannermann said. "I'm proud of the girls."
Worthington finds out its seeding and pairings for the Section 2AAA tournament on Tuesday.
New Ulm 22 24 -- 46
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WHS 39 34 -- 73
New Ulm (3FG-2FG-FT-TP): Steinhauser 0-4-1-9, Ahlness 0-2-2-6, Schneider 1-1-0-5, Collum 0-0-3-3, Altmann 1-2-1-8, Wieneke 0-4-2-10, Dalluge 0-0-1-1, Smith 0-1-0-2, Woodbury 0-0-1-1, Thompson 0-0-1-1. Totals: 2-14-12-46.
WHS (3FG-2FG-FT-TP): S.Boever 0-0-4-4, H.Aggen 1-1-0-5, Ebbers 0-1-0-2, Brignac 0-6-4-16, Wetering 0-2-3-7, M.Boever 0-14-7-35, DeBates 0-1-0-2, Wiese 0-0-2-2. Totals: 1-25-20-73.
