Staff photo by Steve Muscatello Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Sarah Dinse takes a shot between a pair of St. Croix Lutheran defenders during the first half Friday at Martin Luther College in New Ulm. For more photos of this event go to cu.nujournal.com

NEW ULM — Minnesota Valley Lutheran was overwhelmed by St. Croix Lutheran on Thursday night, suffering a 57-12 loss in its first game of the MLC Tip-Off Tournament.

The Chargers shot just 13.2 percent during the game, while the Crusaders finished with a strong 63.6 percent.

The Crusaders opened the game with a 17-1 run before Abby Nelson got the first MVL bucket to fall on a layup to stop the run. St. Croix extended its lead to 23-3 after a basket by Audrey Gadison, who finished the game with 14 points and four assists.

With the score 31-3, Nelson added the next MVL bucket with just over three minutes left in the first half. A free throw by Nelson was the final point of the half for MVL, and the Chargers trailed 37-6 at halftime.

After a Gadison feed to Stephanie Miller for 2 kicked things off in the second half, Lauren Paulsen knocked down a jumper for MVL soon after. Hannah Marzinske and Sarah Kramer added the final baskets for MVL on the night.

Nelson had 5 points and four rebounds for the Chargers, while Paulsen had 2 points and five rebounds. Marzinske added four steals for MVL.

Shooting woes were an obvious problem on the night for the Chargers, but the Crusaders’ defense created plenty of chaos for MVL as well.

MVL turned the ball over 29 times due to the aggressive St. Croix defense, a defense that MVL coach Rollin Timm said was the most aggressive his squad has had to match up with so far.

“We had some good looks in the beginning of the game and then once we weren’t making them, we lost some confidence,” Timm said. “Their defense was more aggressive than anybody we’ve played.”

The Chargers (2-3) resume MLC Tip-Off play at 3 p.m. on Saturday against West Lutheran.