The first outing of the season was a tough one for the Tigers.

Northfield’s girls’ basketball team defeated Albert Lea 65-23 Tuesday at Albert Lea High School. It was the Tigers’ season opener.

Coach Gina Klennert is in her first year at the helm for Albert Lea. She said the team will look to work on screens and rebounding as the season progresses.

“We have a lot to work on defensively,” she said. “We learned a lot tonight. … You don’t know what you have until you put it on the floor against somebody.”

Klennert said her team played hard all night, and specifically mentioned sophomore guard Alli Christenson. While Christenson put up two points and had five rebounds for the Tigers, Klennert said her stats didn’t do her performance justice.

“I really enjoyed how hard (she) played,” Klennert said. “She’s a kid whose hustle really stood out.”

Sophomore guard Rachel Rehnelt led the Tigers’ offense with 10 points, and also had four rebounds. Fran Eckstrom led the defense with three steals. The senior forward also contributed two points and a rebound.

Next, Rochester John Marshall (1-0 overall and in the Big Nine Conference) will host Albert Lea at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The Rockets will be coming off of a 64-63 overtime time win against mutual Big Nine rival Mankato East.