Staff photo by Ari Selvey Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop’s Taylor Bauer (23) goes in for a layup against Madelia’s Adrianne Missling (20) during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference girls basketball crossover game Monday at GFW High School.

WINTHROP — Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop set its season high in points scored in a 64-53 win over Madelia Monday in a Tomahawk-Valley Conference girls basketball crossover game.

The team’s previous season high was 55 in a win over Wabasso on Dec. 3. GFW head coach Rich Busse said the team’s attack become more efficient in the second half after taking more time to set up a quality shot.

“I think the second half we played much better offense than the first,” he said. “The second half was a recipe that worked against other teams from the standpoint that they weren’t quick shots.

“We played through the paint a little bit, turned the defense’s eyes. There was a stretch in the first half where I thought about eight possessions out of 10, we took a really quick shot, and a long 3 missed and turned into 2 points on the other end. That was a conversation at halftime, and they kind of recognized the difference at the end of the game too. Much better possessions the second half.”

Nicole Duehn led the Thunderbirds with 14 points, while Kinley Bruns had 11 points. Trinity Stearns added 10 points, and nine total players scored in the game for GFW.

“I think the [defensive] pressure led to that,” Busse said. “You have different kids running out, opportunities to score. I think Nikki Duehn gave us a solid touch just about every time inside, whether she made a good decision and kicked it back out or went to the bucket. I think she led us with 14, but I thought she made a lot of solid decisions with the ball. Outside of that, I think everybody shared in the wealth a little bit.”

Alicia Lugo led the Blackhawks with 20 points, while Katherine DeVlaeminck had 16 points.

GFW’s full-court press defense bothered Madelia early, but the Blackhawks picked up enough buckets in semi-transition to keept the game close at 10-8. However, GFW was able pull away thanks to a 3-pointer by Kelly Willegal and two layups from Bruns to extend the lead out to 27-16. Madelia stayed in the game with some strong play from Lugo, and a layup from Lugo put the score at 36-26 going into half.

Madelia started out the second half hot, with Lugo hitting a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer and DeVlaeminck scoring on a layup to cut the lead down to 36-33. GFW got back on track with a pair of free throws by Bruns, but a 3-pointer by Lugo put the GFW lead at 42-37. GFW’s offense got rolling with a 10-2 run, with five different Thunderbirds scoring during the stretch. GFW entered the double bonus with five minutes to play as the lead ballooned out to 21 points as subs entered the game.

GFW (3-10) hosts Wabasso on Tuesday. Madelia (2-11) travels to Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda on Tuesday.