Albert Lea girls win 4th straight game

Published 4:20 am Wednesday, February 19, 2014

On Feb. 8, the Albert Lea girls’ basketball team was staring down a three-game losing streak and hadn’t won two games in a row all season.

Oh, what 10 days can do.

The Tigers avenged an overtime loss at Mankato West by beating the Scarlets 67-63. They continued with a 16-point win over Stewartville and a nine-point win over Rochester Century to sweep the regular season series over the Panthers.

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But perhaps Albert Lea’s most impressive victory of its four-game winning streak was Tuesday at Winona.

The Tigers beat the Winhawks 72-62 and led by as many as 21 points in the second half, said Albert Lea head coach Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa.

“We’re peaking at the right time,” she said. “We played great against Century, and it carried over to the win against Winona.”

Bryn Woodside led Albert Lea with a career-high 36 points. She shot more than 50 percent from the field, drained one of two 3-pointers and made 11 of 12 free throws.

“They just couldn’t stop her,” Hugstad-Vaa said.

Sydney Rehnelt had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Megan Kortan added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Kortan also dished out a team-high six assists.

On the interior of the offense, Caycee Gilbertson scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds.

Next, Albert Lea will host Mankato East at 5 p.m Saturday.