Staff photo by Steve Muscatello New Ulm Cathedral’s Heidi Hoffman takes a shot over a Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart defender during the first half Friday at CHS.

NEW ULM — Sara Kottke and a tenacious Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart defense contributed to the Mustang’s running past New Ulm Cathedral 56-40 on Friday in a Tomahawk Conference girls’ basketball game.

Kottke, a junior, grabbed her 1,000th career rebound with nine minutes left in the first half. She finished the contest with 26 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Maddy Wulkan added 13 points, five rebounds and one assist.

“She is a good player who is an all-around floor lead who puts in her time,” BLHS head coach Dustin Wright said.

Both teams played at an up-tempo pace from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer. BLHS used a full-court press which forced the Greyhounds to work harder. The press also created opportunities for the Mustangs to score on lay-ups or get great looks at the basket.

“The press made us work. They were a tall team who has a nice player in (Sara Kottke),” Cathedral head coach Dave Wilfahrt said.

Early in the second half, Chloe Ufkes passed the basketball to Jessica Novotny who scored to give BLHS a 10-point lead.

Lily Franta’s 3-pointer closed the game to within 7 points. Kottke answered with a basket, was fouled and she dropped in the free throw to restore BLHS’s 10-point advantage.

Ufkes’ shot missed but Kottke grabbed the rebound and put the ball in the basket. Kottke scored the next time down the court for a 37-23 BLHS lead.

Emily Schommer’s 3-pointer brought Cathedral within 10 points. Kottke answered with a pass to Novotny for a score. Kottke scored again on the next play.

Cathedral missed some free throws down the stretch which could have cut into the Mustang’s lead.

Kottke scored on a fast-break full-court lay-up and she hit two free throws on the next trip down the floor. Ufkes hit the front-end of two free throws for the final 56-40 score.

Franta led Cathedral with 11 points while McKenna Miling finished with 10 points.

Cathedral (4-9, 4-6) will host Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (11-3, 7-1) on Monday.