Carlie Wagner gave the Panthers the lead in the first half, pouring in 21 points to nearly outscore the Tigers herself. NRHEG held a 30-23 lead at the break.
The Panthers slowly pulled away in the second half as Wagner and Jade Schultz combined to score 21 points.
“We weren’t really sharp in the first half. The girls were a little rusty from not playing in a week,” said NRHEG coach John Schultz. “We came out and executed much better in the second half.”
NRHEG shot 51 percent from the floor. The Panthers made 5-11 behind the arc and 10-16 free throws.
Hutchinson converted 53 percent of its shots from the floor but attempted 20 less shots. The Tigers hit 1-6 triples and 14-20 free throws.
Wagner finished the game with 33 points, including four three-pointers. She also dished out eight assists.
Schultz, who had just two points in the first half, finished with 11 in the game. She also handed out four assists and made four steals.
Raelin Schue and Marnie Wagner flipped in five points apiece.
Taylor Jurgensen led Hutchinson with 12 points, one more than Monroe Julius.
NRHEG controlled the boards by a 32 to 15 margin. The Panthers had 16 offensive boards.
Schultz led the winners with seven rebounds, Hannah Lundberg came down with six boards and Schue snared five rebounds.
“I was very impressed with our rebounding totals as Hutch was a bigger team,” said Schultz. “The girls really scrapped in the second half.”
Hutchinson was guilty of 21 turnovers, three more than the Panthers.
Bemidji
Bemidji, which entered the tournament with a 0-8 record, pushed the Panthers the entire way before NRHEG captured a 58-51 triumph.
The Panthers used a powerful rebounding effort to overcome a horrible shooting night to pull out the win.
NRHEG managed a halftime lead of 27-24.
The Panthers never could pull away with their cold shooting, but did outscore the Lumberjacks 31 to 27 in the final half.
NRHEG fired up 79 shots, but could get just 25 percent of them to stay down. The Panthers hit 9-32 three-pointers and 8-13 free throws.
Carlie Wagner led the way with 23 points, while Schultz flipped in 15, hitting four triples. Wagner handed out six assists and Schultz contributed four more.
Wagner went over the 2,000 point mark for her career.
Cole chipped in with seven points and Maddie Wagner added six.
Bemidji shot 47 percent from the floor, but only took 45 shots. The Lumberjacks were 2-10 behind the arc and 7-13 from the charity stripe.
Jess Yost topped Bemidji’s scoring with 17 points and Gretta Steever added 12.
NRHEG dominated the boards by a 45-25 margin, including 29 offensive rebounds. Schultz yanked down 17 rebounds, including 12 offensive boards, Lundberg snared eight caroms and Cole grabbed seven boards.
Carlie Wagner came up with six rebounds and seven steals.
“We shot terrible tonight, but worked hard on the boards to outrebound a much larger team,” said Schultz. “We saved the game with hustle on the boards and heart down the stretch.”
NRHEG resumes action with a Gopher Conference game at Medford Friday.
The Panthers travel to Hayfield Saturday and entertain Mankato East Tuesday.
