Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Springfield’s Jada Reese (5) dribbles the ball into the lane while guarded by New Ulm Cathedral’s Olivia Macho (14) during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference girls basketball game on Tuesday night at Cathedral High School.

NEW ULM – Springfield had three players score in double figures with a 64-52 victory over New Ulm Cathedral on Tuesday in a Tomahawk Division girls basketball game.

The win improved Springfield to a 2-0 record. The loss dropped Cathedral to 0-3.

“It was a tough, physical game between two evenly-matched teams,” Springfield head coach Mike Kelly said. “It resembled an early-season playoff game.”

Kelly added he was pleased with how the younger players stepped up as they gained valuable experience for future game situations, which will help the team in the long run. The Tigers’ passing game to open players and sharing the ball in transition gave them good looks at the basket.

Jada Reese and Emma Hauger each scored 17 points for the Tigers, with Reese adding seven rebounds and three assists and Hauger earning three assists and two steals. Olivia Milbrath had 10 points and six rebounds, and Jasmine Novotny had 8 points and five rebounds.

Margo Finstad led the Greyhounds with 21 points. Maddie Gilles added 14 points and Ashlyn Hillesheim had 7 points.

“We knew they have good players and they are a good team,” Cathedral head coach Dave Wilfahrt said. He added it said it was a good learning experience for the team and the players should keep their heads high because they are always learning from the good games and the not-so-good ones.

The game was an interesting one because both teams were physical, there were good defensive and offensive plays and it wasn’t decided until late in the contest. The pace picked up in the second half, as did the defense.

Hauger put Cathedral on notice with an early 3 to give Springfield its first lead of the game. The Tigers continued to pull away from Cathedral after that. Late in the first half, Cathedral’s Jayde Altermatt scored on an inside shot, which cut Springfield’s lead to 32-26.

A short time later, Reese stole the ball and passed it to Novotny, who scored on an outside shot. On the next play, Reese was fouled, making both free throws. Gilles answered with a 3 as the first half was drawing to a close for a 38-32 Springfield advantage.

Finstad’s basket early in the second half made Springfield nervous because that cut the deficit down to 4 points (38-34).

The Tigers encountered a problem when Hauger got her fourth foul with 13:48 left. It was an offensive foul, which temporarily sent her to the bench. She fouled out at the 8:39 mark.

Both teams were prevented from scoring more points due to the offenses encountering tough defense. Springfield and Cathedral missed a number of free throw opportunities that could have turned the game around for either team.

Cathedral also had some missteps at a bad time as the game was winding down.

Cathedral also used a full-court press off and on with mixed results. Springfield knew Cathedral wanted to get the ball to Shay Wilfahrt, and on one play late in the game, it triple-teamed her in hopes of securing a turnover. Wilfahrt managed to get the ball to another team member.

Finstad scored on back-to-back plays when she put in a second-chance basket and a 3-point basket, cutting the Springfield lead to 52-48. The Tigers answered with back-to-back baskets of its own. Ayla Rothmeier scored, and on the next play, Reese rebounded the ball and passed it to Olivia Milbrath, who scored for a 54-48 cushion.

Makay Winkelmann passed the ball to Milbrath late in the game and Milbrath scored for Springfield, which gave it a 14-point cushion of 64-50, enough to secure the victory for the Tigers.