The teams combined for 14 second-half 3-pointers as they both got hot from long range. Thea Paszkiewicz hit five of Cathedral’s 11 3-pointers on the day, including two early in the second half to give the Greyhounds a 27-15 lead, and led the Greyhounds with 16 points.

“It was just really validating to see all my hard work pay off,” Paszkiewicz said. “My team was there supporting me, and it was really great.”

Also for Cathedral, Jayde Altermatt had 13 points with three 3s, while Margo Finstad had 9 points and Shay Wilfahrt had 8 points.

Madelia’s Alicia Lugo led all scorers with 18 points, including three 3-pointers, while Grace Tatro had 11 points.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Cathedral’s Ashlyn Hillesheim surveys the floor during a nonconference girls basketball game against Madelia Friday at Cathedral High School.

Lugo opened the scoring with a deep 3, but that was the only points in the first five minutes of the game. Finstad split a pair of free throws to get Cathedral on the board, and Madelia’s Adrianne Missling made another 3 to make it a 6-1 game. Cathedral took a 9-8 lead on Paszkiewicz’s first 3 of the game, and Cathedral maintained that lead with a 3 from Wilfahrt before halftime.

The Greyhounds came out hot in the second half, surpassing their first-half scoring in just the first six minutes of play. Cathedral went on a 16-6 run, with Paszkiewicz making two 3s and Altermatt adding another for a 32-19 lead.

“I think we just saw the energy from the bench and our student section was insane tonight,” Paszkiewicz said. “We just had a bunch of people behind us supporting us, and that really pushed us to have confidence in ourselves.”

However, Madelia started rolling as well, going on a 14-0 run, led by two 3s from Janelle Callejos, to take a 33-32 lead. Paszkiewicz came back with a pair of 3s to take the lead for the Greyhounds once more, but Callejos added another 3 to make it a 38-36 game. Wilfahrt scored a layup as Cathedral called a timeout with 3:21 to play, and Altermatt earned a steal and a layup for a 42-36 lead. A corner 3 from Altermatt made it a 45-38 game, but Madelia wouldn’t go away as Missling hit a 3 of her own to cut the lead to 45-41. However, Wilfahrt converted an and-one and Finstad added one last 3-pointer to seal the victory. Cathedral’s Kylie Berdan had a mid-range jumper and a layup as time wound down to close out the win.

Cathedral (11-14) plays at Cleveland on Tuesday, while Madelia (0-25) hosts the Minnesota Academy for the Deaf on Tuesday.