A strong first half effort put the Austin girls basketball team in a good position and they capitalized on that with a 55-32 win over Mayo in Ove Berven Thursday.

The Packers (11-5 overall, 7-3 Big Nine) started a little slow as they missed a few bunnies early, but they put together a 14-0 run that lasted over eight minutes to go up 22-6 with 4:23 left in the first half.

Austin’s Krista Viehauser scored six of her 14 points during the run and Tina Vorphal hit a key three-pointer.

The Packer defense forced 24 turnovers from the Spartans on the night.

“We just came out with a lot of intensity and we knew that defense was the key to win,” said Vorphal, who had 11 points, six rebounds and two steals. “We just wanted to come out with a lot of fire.”

Austin opened the second half with a 14-1 run that saw them score eight fast break points.

“We were able to control the tempo and get out and run the court. I thought we could fast break on this team,” Austin head coach Gary Peterson said. “We wanted to come out (in the second half) and not let them get a run and get back in it. We pushed it out right away.”

After that run, the Packers led 39-11 and were able to play their reserves down the stretch.

“It was really important to put them away, we needed a confidence builder before a big game tomorrow against Winona,” said Kathryn Gavin, who had 11 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists for the Packers.

Rebekah Aase had 12 rebounds and four blocks for Austin, which hosts Winona Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Mayo 10 22 — 32

Austin 25 30 — 55

Austin scoring: Krista Viehauser, 14; Kathryn Gavin, 11; Tina Vorphal, 11; Rebekah Aase, 6; Whitney Heiny, 5; Bri Mayer, 4; Hanna Middlebrook, 2; Robin Arjes, 2; field goals: 34 percent (21-for-62); three-pointers: 44 percent (4-for-9); free throws: 64 percent (9-for-14); rebounds: 47 (Aase, 12); turnovers: 29

Mayo scoring: Danielle Sommerfeldt, 6; Anna Ryan, 5; Liz Mellon, 4; Amelia Jajowka, 4; Julie Miller, 4; Lauren Ulsh, 2; Sarah Bohlen, 2; Shayla Johnson, 2; Alexa Shirek, 1; field goals: 20 percent (13-for-64); three-pointers: 0 percent (0-for-9); free throws: 35 percent (6-for-17); rebounds: 33 (Hirissing, 7); turnovers: 24