ADAMS — The Blooming Prairie girls basketball team stormed into Southland and seized a 51-35 victory Thursday night.

The Awesome Blossoms (2-0 overall) opened the game on a 20-5 run and senior forward Lynnae Nelson got them started as she scored the first six points for BP.

“I had a shorter girl on me and Ashley (Hueman) and Resha (Koster) had some real nice passes,” said Nelson, who finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, and three assists. “We just kind of went to town on the shorter girl.”

The Rebels (2-2 overall) struggled throughout most of the first half as they hit just three field goals and only two players scored. Still Southland crept to within 23-10 after a Hilary Johnson three-pointer and a score by Haley Janssen.

BP closed the half with three points in 13 seconds, when Nelson made a free throw and Koster made a steal and scored on a runner to make it 26-10.

“It was definitely a rough start and that just can’t happen against a good team,” Southland head coach Dave Decker said. “They were more aggressive early and we didn’t play good defense early. It wasn’t our best game.”

BP head coach John Worke said the last 13 seconds were crucial for the Blossoms.

“That’s the way the game of basketball is. We understand the peaks and valleys every night. One of the things I look for is consistency and I thought for most of the first half we played under control until about the last five minutes,” Worke said. “Then we fizzled, but thank goodness we scored the last three points.”

Southland got as close as 27-16 to open the second half after Chelsey Smith, who finished with 11 points and four steals, converted two breakaway lay-ups.

The Rebels missed a big chance to make it closer when eighth grader Jana Schammel missed two free throws after a flagrant foul on BP.

Southland never got within double-digits the rest of the night as it struggled with turnovers.

“We have a very young team with some people who don’t have a lot of varsity experience,” Decker said. “Some of them didn’t have good play tonight and that hurts us. We need some of them to step up.”

BP held a 45 to 36 advantage on the boards in large part due to the hustle of Hueman, a 5-foot-5 senior guard. Hueman scored 10, ran down 10 boards, had four assists, and four steals.

“I don’t really know how I exactly (get to so many rebounds),” Hueman said. “I just kind of run for it I guess. It’s clearly not my height.”

Worke pointed to Hueman’s strength as the main reason for her success.

“She certainly does play with a lot of energy and she has a knack for the ball,” he said. “For a kid her size, she plays with a lot of strength and she gives us some flexibility by matching up with some of the taller kids with her strength.”

Nelson said Hueman fires up the whole team.

“She just brings all the energy for all of us. When we’re tired, she’ll pick us right back up,” Nelson said.

Decker hopes his Rebels learned some things against the Blossoms.

“They’re a good team and that’s why we scheduled them,” he said. “We knew they would give us a good contest. They’re very athletic and they move to the ball quick on rebounds and loose balls.”

STATS

BP 26 25 — 51

Southland 10 25 — 35

Blooming Prairie scoring: Lynnae Nelson, 13; Ashley Hueman, 10; Resha Koster, 9; Kassie Lueth, 7; Erica Manske, 5; Marie Morem, 3; Katelin Strand, 2; Mag Fogarty, 2; field goals: 32 percent (19-for-60); free throws: 48 percent (12-for-25); rebounds: 45 (Nelson, 13; Hueman, 10); turnovers: 25

Southland scoring: Chelsey Smith, 11; Haley Janssen, 8; Jana Schammel, 8; Hilary Johnson, 5; Brandi Schammel, 3; free throws: 39 percent (7-for-18); rebounds: 36 (Janssen, 9) turnovers: 25