A huge first quarter set the tone for a big win for the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal girls on Monday, January 21st. The Cardinals outscored the Baltic Bulldogs in every quarter of the game on their way to a 56-32 win at Dell Rapids St Mary High School.
St Mary brought the hammer early in the game. The Cardinals got out to a 19-point lead late in the first quarter, and that was all they needed the rest of the game. St Mary led 20-3 after the first quarter of play. Baltic did got a little run going in the second quarter and cut the lead to 10 points at 25-15 with 2:46 to play in the first half, but St Mary closed out the quarter on an 11-3 run to take a 36-18 lead into halftime. The Cardinal defense continued to cause problems for the Bulldogs in the second half. Baltic was held to just 14 second half points while St Mary scored 20 points.
Nine different players scored in the game for St Mary. Ella Heinitz finished with 16 points, nine steals, five rebounds, and four assists. Ella Griffin had 11 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. Maddie Schwebach tallied nine points and four rebounds. Clare Klein added six points. Baltic was led by Berklee Erickson with nine points.
The Cardinals (5-8) will travel to Alcester to play the Alcester-Hudson Cubs on Thursday, January 24th.