Mike Kraft/MDN Rugby’s Sam Blessing drives to the lane in between Beulah defenders Tori Ziman (12) and Emma Hager during the Dale Brown Hoopster Classic at the Minot State University Dome on Saturday, Dec. 27.

Defense has been the bread and butter so far this season for the Rugby girls basketball team, and Saturday was yet another example.

The Panthers offense played a solid opening 16 minutes to build a sizable advantage by halftime before stagnating for most of the second half, but the defense was present for the entire 32 minutes.

Rugby suffocating Beulah with its full-court press, leading to turnover after turnover in the Panthers’ 51-20 victory over the Miners on Saturday, Dec. 27, during the Dale Brown Hoopster Classic at the Minot State University Dome.

Rugby didn’t allow Beulah to score more than six points in a quarter and limited the Miners to just three points in the opening stanza. The defensive effort set a new mark for fewest points Rugby has allowed in a game this season, besting its previous total of 29 points against Glenburn two games prior.

“I thought our first half, we played really well,” Rugby coach Jen Brossart said. “We tried to switch some things up in the second half and it kind of slowed us down a bit I felt. We’ll have to make some decisions there, but overall it’s a ‘W’ and those are hard games to play. Proud of our girls’ effort and we just have to be ready to go on Tuesday.”

The Panthers (4-1) came out of the gate strong, scoring eight of the game’s first nine points and 24 of the first 27 to take complete command well before halftime. Rugby’s defense allowed just one field goal in the opening quarter and four over the span of the first half, taking a 34-9 lead into halftime.

Rugby’s defense showcased the long day ahead for the Miners on Beulah’s opening possession, getting whistled for a 10-second backcourt violation, as they were unable to move the ball past halfcourt in the allotted time due to the Panthers’ full-court pressure.

“We work really hard on defense and we take pride in our defense and causing a little bit of chaos and pressure for the other team so we can get turnovers and go and score,” Rugby senior Alli Blessum said. “We were getting up in their faces and causing pressure on them so that way they were not that quick to be able to get the ball further up the court.”

While the defense kept the Miners (0-7) off the scoreboard, the Panthers were pouring it on from the inside early. Rugby hit 10 shots in the opening eight minutes, many of them from within just a couple feet, whether from fastbreak opportunities set up by their defense causing turnovers or finding the open player cutting to the basket. Alli Blessum, Sam Blessum, Sara Schmaltz and Hallie Hauck all tallied baskets in the first quarter.

“Our aggressiveness and them having to try and counteract that left our inside game open a little bit,” Brossart said. “We just have to keep attacking, quit looking at the scoreboard and keep doing what we do best.”

The Panthers didn’t have much success knocking down shots outside of the paint throughout most of the first half, but it didn’t matter as they were converting on the more high-percentage shots near the rim. Abby Hager found the most success shooting from the outside, accounting for three of her team’s five 3-pointers in the game.

Hager was one of four Rugby players with nine points, joining Alli Blessum, Sam Blessing and Schmaltz.

Rugby’s offense went relatively quiet in the second half, scoring just 17 points the rest of the way, but its defense stayed sharp. It took until a free throw by Beulah’s Tori Ziman with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter for the Miners to break into double digits on the scoreboard, trailing 36-10 at the time. The Panthers led by as many as 35 points in the second half, playing most of the fourth quarter under a running clock.

“Our defense made us win and in that first half we did good on offense, but in the second half we kind of slacked a little bit, but our defense helped us win that game,” Sam Blessum said.

Brinley Larson led Beulah with eight points.

Both teams close at their Hoopster Classic schedules on Tuesday, Dec. 30. Rugby plays Our Redeemer’s at 12:30 p.m. at the MSU Dome, while Beulah plays Nedrose at 6:30 p.m. at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.