Staff photo by Ari Selvey Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Olivia Hammer drives to the hoop during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference crossover girls basketball game against Madelia Thursday at Madelia High School.

MADELIA — Minnesota Valley Lutheran looked in midseason form in its first game of the season, rolling to an 82-41 victory over Madelia Thursday in a nonconference girls basketball game.

It was the largest margin of victory MVL has had with Hailey Santos as head coach against a section playoff-qualifying team, and the Chargers looked sharp in all aspects of the game.

“I think it gives us a really big boost in confidence,” MVL’s Olivia Hammer said. “Coming off of last season where we had four wins and a bunch of losses. It just lifts up our mood and makes us want to be there more. This team really loves the game, and I think we have a lot of talent. I think we’re a more put together team and have more chemistry than last year.”

Hammer had a strong night for the Chargers, leading the team in scoring with 26 points, including four made 3-pointers. MVL made a total of six 3-pointers in the game while Madelia did not come away with a make from behind the arc.

Hammer said seeing a few 3-pointers gives her extra assurance in her offensive game.

“It also shows me I can drive and kick to my teammates too,” she said. “I just get more energy from it.”

Hammer added five rebounds and three steals , while Ziva Zahrt had 20 points and 14 rebounds. Avery Freier added 13 points, three rebounds and two steals while Natalie Matzke had 9 points and two steals.

Ashlynn Sweet came off the bench and had nearly half of Madelia’s points, racking up 20 points in the game. Tora Hemmingsen and Katherine DeVlaeminck each had 6 points for the Blackhawks.

MVL started off the game with a lot of energy defensively, getting steals and forcing Madelia turnovers on their way to a 10-0 lead.

“We definitely switched our defensive strategy a little bit,” Santos said. “The mentality of high energy, individual discipline, but also having team defense accountability. It’s been really fun to see the girls adapt to that and tonight they really thrived on it. When you start to pick up those turnovers, when you really get it done on the defensive boards, it just makes them want to play defense harder. It was nice that we were able to secure those turnovers and turn them into points on the defensive end.”

Hammer added the team emphasized turnovers and transition in practice.

“We always start with a transition drill in practice,” she said. “That’s our one goal, is to have transition but to also be controlled on the offensive side when we do get a look on offense.”

Santos capitalized on the early energy from her team by switching to a trap defense. The Blackhawks at times found their way though the trap, with Sweet getting some buckets under the baskets in transition, but a pair of floaters and a driving layup by Freier kept the Chargers in the lead 29-8.

“We’ve got some smalls especially when they’re out there that run that trap really, really nicely,” Santos said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how that can grow, because by far we were not happy with it tonight, but it was effective at certain moments tonight.”

MVL’s bench was able to continue the success of the starters, with Matzke driving into the lane twice to put the score at 34-12. MVL got solid contributions from the bench all game, with the unit scoring 21 points as a whole.

“Very young team this year,” Santos said. “That sophomore class is looking to step up and be big contributors. It’s a beauty to turn to your bench and recognize that you’ve got some depth and you’ve got some options. So many girls that can take care of the ball and work with that starting lineup without any talent dropoff. It’s going to be a really fun team to work with. Interesting to see who’s going to be the leading scorer every night.”

MVL continued to push, ending the half with a 45-22 lead. The scoring didn’t stop in the second half, with Hammer scoring 5 of 9 points to start the half and push the lead to 54-22. A running clock was instituted after Zahrt made a paint shot to push the lead to 64-28, and MVL’s reserves entered to finish the game. The Chargers saw one more bright spot as junior Grace Peters made the final shot as time expired, helping to celebrate her birthday.

MVL (1-0) travels to Waseca on Tuesday.