United South Central catches fire from beyond the arc in the 1st half

WELLS — The United South Central girls’ basketball team used high-percentage perimeter shooting to build a 25-point halftime lead and coast to a 44-25 win over Granada-Huntley East Chain on Monday.

USC’s victory snapped the Mustangs’ 10-game winning streak.

The Rebels made 8-of-12 3-pointers in the first half.

“I think some pro teams would like to shoot as well as we did tonight,” USC head coach Stu Hendrickson said. “That won’t happen every night, but it was nice to see.”

USC sophomore guard Taylor Schultz scored the game’s first points and set the tone for the night with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

After a basket from long range by junior forward Tara Bauman and another 3-pointer by Schultz, the Rebels took an 11-2 lead.

Granada-Huntley-East Chain cut its deficit to four points (11-7) with a 5-0 run, but USC kept hitting 3-pointers to push its lead to double digits. Bauman’s second 3-pointer of the game gave the Rebels a 21-9 lead.

USC added to its lead with a steal and layup by junior guard Eryn Eilertson and a put-back by eighth-grade forward Shianne Robertson.

The Rebels took a 21-point lead on a basket by senior center Amanda Allis, after Schultz and Bauman both hit their third 3-pointers of the game.

Bauman sunk another shot from downtown just before the halftime buzzer to give USC a 25-point advantage (36-11).

The first half was reminiscent of Friday’s matchup against Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton. In that game, the Rebels led 33-6 at halftime but had to hold on for a two-point win (58-56).

“We were a little tentative after what happened last week,” Hendrickson said.

USC didn’t let that happen again.

In the second half, the Rebels were patient on offense and did not push the tempo.

Despite not feeling well, Bauman led USC in scoring with 12 points, all of which came in the first half. She also earned three rebounds, two assists and three steals.

“I had a headache and was feeling a little shaky, but the team played really well, and that just made me feel a lot better,” Bauman said.

Schultz added 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and a team-high four steals.

Allis was a force on the interior with a team-high four blocks.

Junior guard Eryn Eilertson tied Allis and Robertson with a team-high six rebounds.

The Rebels are 15-10 overall, 9-5 (fourth) in the Gopher Conference and 7-4 (fifth) in their section.

Granada-Huntley-East Chain falls to 15-7 overall, 9-5 (fourth) in the Valley Conference and 9-2 (second) in its section.

USC has won seven of its last nine games.

“We are really shooting well, and it’s a good time of the year to be doing that,” Hendrickson said. “We’ve got one game before sections, and hopefully we can keep that up.”

In the final game of the regular season, the Rebels play at Hayfield at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday.

Hayfield is 17-7 overall and has won nine of its last 11 games.