Photo by Jeremy Behnke Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Abbie Riederer goes in for a layup during Tuesday’s Tomahawk Conference game against New Ulm Cathedral at MVL.

NEW ULM — Prior to Tuesday night’s game against New Ulm Cathedral, Minnesota Valley Lutheran head coach Rollin Timm wanted his team to turn up the defensive pressure against New Ulm Cathedral and cause problems for the Greyhounds offensively.

That strategy worked out just fine as the Chargers finished the game with 14 steals and the defense caused problems any time the Greyhounds got past mid-court.

The Chargers went on a 16-0 run early on to grab an 18-2 lead and never looked back as they cruised to a 70-36 victory over their crosstown rivals.

Abbie Riederer led a balanced scoring attack for the Chargers with 13 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Sam Dalueg had 10 points and Mia Johnson finished with 9 points. Ella Schlei and Olivia Marth each scored 8 points. Kaylee Hunter had four steals and Rebecca Kuck finished with three steals.

Emily Schommer led the Greyhounds with 18 points.

With the win, MVL improved to 7-2 overall and 5-0 in the Tomahawk Conference. The Chargers are tied with Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s, which beat Sleepy Eye on Tuesday night, for first place in the conference standings. Cathedral fell to 0-8 overall and 0-7 in conference play.

Tied at 2-2, the Chargers let their defense do the work and create baskets on the other end. Riederer’s steal and layup put her team up 18-2, a run that ended on a basket by Schommer at 10:39.

The Chargers didn’t let up, pushing the lead to 27-8 after Ella Schlei scored from inside. Another basket and a pair of free throws upped the lead to 32-8 and the Chargers went into halftime with a 46-15 lead.

The Chargers are at Le Sueur-Henderson on Friday before a tough week next week, hosting St. James on Monday, traveling to Sleepy Eye on Tuesday and then going to Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart next Friday.

Cathedral hosts Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton on Thursday and Springfield on Friday.