GALLERY: St. Michael-Albertville Girls Drop Decision to Buffalo

For a while, in the first half, it might have been colder on the St. Michael-Albertville bench than it was outside.

And that was cold, with Jan. 19 recording a high of about 2 degrees.

The Knights couldn't find their range, and the Buffalo Bison took control of the Mississippi 8 Conference with a 67-54 victory in St. Michael Thursday night, thanks in large part to the inside play of junior Emily Spier, who led all scorers with 22 points.

The Knights (11-6, 4-1 Mississippi 8), who trailed by as much as 16, used a second half run behind the hot shooting of Jordan Hansen, a junior guard, who had 10 points in the second half, including eight straight points for the Knights.

Natalie Van Wyhe led the Knights with 15 points, but senior guard and leading scorer Christine Thorn struggled to find her shot, and finished with three points. 

Buffalo's (15-3, 6-0 Mississippi 8) inside game, which struggled in the second half thanks to a full-court defense used by STMA coach Kent Hamre, was just too much. Forward Alexa Thielman, who crushed the Knights' state tournament hopes the last time these two teams met–the Section 8-4A Championship–also had double figures, with most of her 14 points coming inside.

St. Michael-Albertville will try to rebound against another Section 8 opponent Saturday, when they host the Spuds at for a 2:30 p.m. tilt, preceded by ninth grade and JV games earlier in the day.