Staff photo by Steve Muscatello Trista Smith (12) of Cedar Mountain shoots over Brianna Schumacher of New Ulm Cathedral during the second half Tuesday at CHS.

By Jeff Meder

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM — Cedar Mountain earned its second victory of the season with a 61-34 win over New Ulm Cathedral on Tuesday in a Tomahawk Conference girls’ basketball game.

The Cougars avenged an earlier season loss to the Greyhounds.

Cathedral used a press throughout the game. At times, it bothered the Cougars as they weren’t sure how to handle it. CM figured out how to break the press later by making key passes and getting the best shot possible. During the second half, CM hit 9 of 13 free throws.

Teresa Larsen led CM with 18 points, while Megan Sandgren and Bella Harmoning each added 12 points. Sandrgren scored 10 points in the first half.

Jenna Hotovec led Cathedral scoring 17 points. She scored 9 of them in the first half and she hit important baskets throughout the contest to give the Greyhounds hope. Emily Schommer scored 8 points.

“We got a lot of second-chance points,” CM head coach Joel Christianson said. “We kept battling, and we did a better job of attacking the press by getting inside baskets.”

He was pleased that the Cougars were able to make free throws when needed.

Schommer canned a 3-pointer with 13:11 left in the game to cut the Greyhound deficit to 38-25.

Harmoning scored an inside basket. The Cougar offense was able to feed the basketball to Harmoning two times in a row to break the press. Larsen and Trista Smith each scored down the stretch to keep Cathedral at bay.

The Greyhounds did themselves no favors in the first half. CM’s Madi Heiling scored 4 points, Harmoning hit two free throws, Smith scored and Sandgren scored for a 10-0 Cougar advantage. Hotovec scored Cathedral’s first basket with 14:15 left in the first half.

Later in the half, Sandgren scored 6 points for CM. Hotovec scored a 3-pointer in between Sandgren’s points. Hotovec scored again and Elizabeth Griebel scored. Larsen scored an inside basket for a 27-16 CM halftime lead.

CM (2-14, 1-8) will host Springfield (15-3, 9-2) Friday. Cathedral (3-12, 1-11) will play at Nicollet/Loyola (3-11, 2-4) on Thursday in a make-up game from the Nicollet Holiday Tournament.