The Lake Mills girls’ basketball team took one step in the right direction when it defeated St. Ansgar in the opening round of the postseason tournament, 61-45.

Teah Kesler scored 16 points to lead to the Bulldogs, and Jewell Gasteiger and Jade Gasteiger had 15 and 13 points, respectively.

“It’s always great to win a tournament game at home,” Lake Mills coach Thad Evans said. “We weren’t always sharp, but we played very hard tonight and made open shots.”

The Bulldogs hit eight three-pointers in the victory and outscored St. Ansgar in every quarter but the fourth quarter when the guest won the quarter, 10-9.

“Our defense created a couple nice runs, which always makes us better,” Evans said. “The energy level was very good tonight.”

Lake Mills will play on Tuesday at West Fork High School. Its opponent has not been announced.