Eagles stop Saints
NEW ULM — New Ulm managed to hold off St. Peter 63-61 in a Big South Conference girls’ basketball game Friday night.
Meleah Reinhart led the Eagles (15-2, 6-1 Big South) with 22 points, while Joey Batt added 15. Iyanna Wieland scored 14 points off the bench filling in for Emma Bute, who went down early with a knee injury.
Wieland is an aggressive player for New Ulm, but there is more to her game than that. She certainly was the unsung hero for the Eagles with some key rebounds and crucial 3-pointers down the stretch.
“It felt really good,” Wieland said. “Especially in these pressure situations. When I was open I was told to shoot it, so that’s what I did.”
Ellie Johnson and Kelli Hanson led the Saints (13-2, 5-2) with 14 points each. Kayla Oeltjenbruns also chipped in 10 points.
New Ulm started off strong, scoring 11 points unanswered after St. Peter started off with a 3-0 lead.
Wieland later hit a 3-pointer to put New Ulm up by six points. New Ulm took a 32-23 lead on a dish from Reinhart to Batt.
Reinhart then knocked down a 3-pointer to put New Ulm up by 12 and New Ulm led 36-24 at the half.
With the intensity picking up on the floor and in the crowd, St. Peter began to gain some momentum. St. Peter cut the deficit down to seven on a layup, but Wieland again answered back with another 3-pointer to make the score 49-39.
St. Peter and New Ulm traded points until Johnson cut the St. Peter deficit to one on a basket with less than 3 minutes to go.
Reinhart and Wieland each hit crucial baskets to put the Eagles up 61-55 with less than a minute and a half to play, but the Saints responded with a 3-pointer. New Ulm led 62-58 with 15.3 seconds to go, but Hanson hit a huge 3-pointer to bring the Saints back within one with 7.5 seconds to play.
However, New Ulm managed to slow down St. Peter enough to eke out the win.
Both sides of the crowd were vocal throughout the game, but Wieland didn’t let the pressure negatively effect her at all.
“The atmosphere was really great,” Wieland said. “We had a big crowd and that was good because we really needed to win this conference game. It kind of pushes me and makes me want to do better. It encourages me more.”
New Ulm travels to Faribault for a 7:30 p.m. game on Tuesday.
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