The second meeting between the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva girls’ basketball team and United South Central didn’t prove as thrilling as the the first.

The Panthers (19-0, 11-0) defeated the upstart Rebels (11-7, 8-3) by three points in New Richland back on Jan. 22, but this time their pressure defense was just too much for USC Tuesday in a 70-54 win in Wells.

“We played outstanding tonight and controlled the game from start to finish,” said NRHEG head coach Mindy Sparby. “I can’t say enough about the effort of my kids on both ends of the floor. We had great balanced scoring tonight and rebounded well in the second half. This was a huge win for us on the road at USC.”

Alyssa Kerkhoff led the way with 34 points and Alyssa Hagen added 11 points.

The Panthers forced 25 turnovers in the game and were able to get transition baskets with the havoc they created on defense.

“The key was their pressure defense,” said Rebels head coach Stu Hendrickson. “We gave them too many points off layups and steals.”

Taylor Allis scored 10 points to lead USC and Val Sahr was held to eight points. Sahr did have 18 rebounds in the game.

The Rebels fought back from 10-point deficits three times, but weren’t able to muster a fourth comeback.

“We used a lot of energy getting back,” Hendrickson said. “We just didn’t have enough left. I thought we did a lot good things tonight.”

Both teams have big matchups looming. NRHEG faces Blooming Prairie Friday in Blooming Prairie while the Rebels travel to Waterville to face the Buccaneers in an important section game.

NRHEG 70, USC 54

NRHEG 28 42 — 70

USC 23 31 — 54

USC scoring: Taylor Allis 10, Nicole Youngbloom 9, Val Sahr 8, Lindsey Dahl 8, Kayla Stenzel 5, Danielle Koestler 5, Ciara Christenson 3, Katie Ovrebo 2, Kristie Ovrebo 2, Megan Jacobson 2.

NRHEG scoring: Alyssa Kerkhoff 34, Alyssa Hagen 11, Jenna Brekke 9, Anna Schlaak 7, Kelsey Christensen 7, Kate Quam 2.