The Albert Lea girls’ basketball team came into Friday night’s game against Mankato East having won two of its last four games.

After starting the season with nine straight loses, the Tigers were showing signs of improvement. However, the power of the Cougars offense would be too much for the Tigers to add a third win to their resume, as they fell 69-50.

The Tigers got into a hole early, as they were trailing at the halftime break by 16 points. They came out and played a much more contested second half. The Tigers upped their point total by 10 points compared to the first half. However, the fast pace of the Cougars would keep the Tigers at bay as they ran away with the 19-point victory.

“The girls played with a lot of heart and a lot of intensity,” said head coach Karol Hansen. “Statistically, we need to work on improving our shooting. The shots were there and the girls worked hard to get them, they just didn’t fall for us. The score doesn’t reflect how hard the girls played tonight.”

Senior Rachel Rehnelt led the Tigers in scoring with 25 points; she also had two assists and one rebound. Senior Allison Christensen scored nine points, and added four rebounds and one steal.

The Tigers fall to 2-12 on the season and will play again Tuesday when they travel to Mankato to take on the West Scarlets.