MANKATO &8212; Albert Lea put together a very strong first half against Mankato East leading 41-27 at halftime and withstood a second half rally to win, 69-55.

The Tigers got 20 points from Niki Hendrickson and 19 from Hali Hendrickson to lead the way. Ali Demmer added 12 points and Liz Thompson added 10. However, Thompson&8217;s biggest contribution was a pair of charges she drew late in the game after the Cougars had cut the Tiger lead to nine.

Thompson&8217;s unselfish play got the momentum back for the Tigers who made a living at the free throw line in the game hitting 26 of 43 attempts.

Albert Lea did a better job of taking care of the ball in this game which enabled it to take quality

shots and build the first half advantage.

Defensively, the Tigers had 10 steals in the game and played unselfish with 15 assists.

&8220;We really executed well in the first half,&8221; Albert Lea head coach Karol Hansen said. &8220;We struggled a little more in the second half but we were able to recover.&8221;

The Tigers had a five minute stretch where they struggled to score in the second half which allowed the Cougars to cut into the lead before Thompson&8217;s charges helped seal the win.

&8220;We were not as composed as we needed to be,&8221; Hansen said, &8220;and we are still developing that killer instinct.&8221;

The win improved the Tigers to 11-4 on the season and 6-3 in Big Nine play. The win came as Albert Lea wrapped up its first run through conference play.