Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm’s Betsy Joyce takes a shot over two Waseca defenders during a Big South Conference girls basketball game Tuesday at New Ulm High School.

NEW ULM — New Ulm opened the second half of a Big South Conference girls basketball game against Waseca Tuesday with a 12-0 run, going up by 20 and never looking back as the Eagles defeated the Bluejays 80-46.

New Ulm had a slow start in the first half but got going in the second half.

“We just had to pick it up on defense,” New Ulm head coach Julie Rogers said. “We weren’t playing Eagles style of defense, we weren’t being as aggressive as we wanted kids to be. Giving up 27 points and only scoring 35 [in the first half], that’s not our style of ball. We talked about that at halftime, lit a fire under a couple of kids, and it payed off. I’m so impressed with the way they reacted and came out in the second half … To outscore them by 26 in the second half, that’s what we wanted to do.”

Betsy Joyce led the Eagles with 16 points, including 7 of New Ulm’s first 11 points, along with four rebounds. Joyce’s energy helped keep New Ulm in the lead during the first half.

“I think getting second chances on the offensive end is huge,” Joyce said. “I think it helps keep the pace up and fast. Defensively, if we can keep them to one shot and get defensive rebounds and run the floor fast, it just contributes so much to the offense and the pace we like to keep.”

Also for New Ulm, Riley Wilson had 14 points and three rebounds, while Maddie Backer had 12 points and two rebounds. Brooklyn Lewis had 11 points and four rebounds, while Morgan Hulke had 10 points.

New Ulm was able to get going in the second half by getting back into playing hard defense.

“We just realized that we weren’t playing how we usually play,” Joyce said. “We realized that we were maybe playing down to their level even. We just had to step up defensively, and our offense would come off of our defense. That’s what really happened.”

The Eagles started the first half with a 11-2 run, led by a pair of layups and a 3-pointer by Joyce. The Bluejays fought back to a 19-15 game, but New Ulm stayed ahead with a 3-pointer from Hulke and layups from Backer and Lewis. Another 3-pointer from Hulke gave New Ulm a 35-27 lead at halftime.

New Ulm picked up the pace in the second half, relying on transition and hitting cuts to spur the offense.

“That’s one of the things that we’ve been working on, is having that cutter run to the basket,” Rogers said. “Then being able to make that pass that doesn’t get deflected or stolen. That worked well for us.”

Ramsey Hopp hit a 3-pointer to open the 12-0 run for the Eagles, putting them up 47-27. New Ulm added a 14-2 run later in the half, led by 6 points from Wilson in transition, to go up 76-40 and put the game into running time. Subs entered the game with two minutes to go as the Eagles came away with the victory.

New Ulm (10-6, 6-3) hosts St. Peter on Friday.