After an uncharacteristically close first half, the No. 1 Class AA NRHEG girls’ basketball team beat Blooming Prairie 64-36.

The Panthers led 29-23 at halftime.

“It was the coldest shooting we have had in a long time, especially during the first half,” said NRHEG head coach John Schultz. “We took our normal amount of 3-pointers but missed too many.”

NRHEG was 4 of 27 from beyond the arc.

Schultz said the Panthers went on a run to start the second half. In the second half, NRHEG outscored Blooming Prairie by 22 points.

Carlie Wagner led the Panthers with a double-double: 40 points and 10 rebounds. Paige Overgaard grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.

After hosting Minneapolis Washburn, the team NRHEG beat 69-60 in the state semifinals last season, the Panthers (13-0 overall, 7-0 Gopher Conference) play at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at Blue Earth.