Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Cathedral’s Maddie Gilles (5) drives into the lane while teammate Shay Wilfahrt sets a screen during a nonconference girls basketball season opener against Renville County West on Friday at Cathedral High School.

NEW ULM — New Ulm Cathedral dropped its season opener in girls basketball 60-46 to Renville County West on Friday in a nonconference contest.

The Jaguars had three players score in double figures. Holly Hinderks had 20 points while Bailee McLagan and Maggie Rice each added 15 points.

Maddie Gilles led the Greyhounds with 18 points, Shay Wilfahrt added 16 points and Jayde Altermatt had 7 points.

Both teams utilized a full-court press off and on throughout the game which created turnovers and caused the opposition missed shot opportunities.

The game started out being a tight one. RCW changed that when it went on a 12-0 run. Olivia Macho ended it with two free throws. Two plays later, Shay Wilfahrt hit a shot which beat the shot clock buzzer. Hinderks answered for RCW with a running hook shot. Later, Shay Wilfahrt scored on a second-chance basket which cut Cathedral’s deficit to 9 points, 23-14. RCW’s McLagan answered with a 3 pointer which gave it a 12-point advantage of 26-14.

RCW hit a scoring drought when it was stuck on 31 points for a short period of time. Cathedral turned to Shay Wilfahrt when it was able to do so. She hit two free throws which made it 31-22. RCW responded with McLagan’s basket and a running layup in the lane by Hinderks at the buzzer which made it 35-22 RCW at halftime.

“We had our moments when we made a run, but they countered with their own run,” Cathedral head coach Dave Wilfahrt said.

Turnovers continued to be a problem throughout the second half. RCW started to pull away from Cathedral. Hinderks stole the ball and she scored on a layup for a 45-25 lead. On the next play, Hinderks fed Vivia Hebrink who scored on a backdoor layup behind the Cathedral defense. Shay Wilfahrt stole the ball on the next play and she scored on a fast-break layup.

Gilles hit back-to-back 3s to give the Greyhounds some hope. Late in the game, Shay Wilfahrt scored on consecutive baskets in the lane which shaved the Jaguars’ lead down to 12 points, 58-46. McLagan passed the ball to Rice who scored for RCW’s final margin of victory.

With nine players listed on the varsity roster, the Greyhounds were forced to frequently adjust their lineup and try multiple different plays against RCW. Unfortunately for them, the Jaguars were just a step ahead.

“If you don’t try, you won’t know what’ll work,” coach Wilfahrt said.

Cathedral (0-1) will play at Sibley East on Tuesday.