Victories have not been easy to come by for the Albert Lea High School girls’ basketball team this season.

But the Tigers sure made it look easy Tuesday night.

Bolting to a 16-4 lead at the end of the first quarter, the ALHS girls breezed to a 48-30 nonconference triumph over New Ulm at ALHS.

It was the first win of the year for the Tigers after an 0-6 start.

&uot;It’s very nice to win,&uot; said coach Karol Hansen. &uot;It’s definitely a huge factor in believing we can win.&uot;

The Tigers came out confident, according to Hansen, taking a 26-12 advantage at halftime before letting up a big in the third quarter. Albert Lea took a 34-22 lead into the fourth.

&uot;Offensively, we could have scored more points, but I real feel our defense contributed a lot to our offense, which is something we’ve been working on,&uot; said Hansen. &uot;Another big factor was we took care of the basketball, committing only 13 turnovers.&uot;

Hansen also felt good about the fact that she was able to use several combinations of players and all did well.

Albert Lea’s individual leaders: Amy Ravenhorst 12 points, six rebounds, four steals; Danielle Rankin eight points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals; Jess Hanson six points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals; Jenny Hovendick five points, three steals; Amber Edwards four points, 11 rebounds, three assists; Ashley Helgerson four points; Katie Stenseth four points; Nicole Rafdal three points; Tiffany Braaten two points.

Hansen said Heather Stegenga provided the Tigers some quality minutes off the bench, particularly with her rebounding.

The Tigers are off until Friday, Dec. 27, when they face Spring Grove in the opening round of the first Albert Lea Invitational.