The Packer girls couldn’t match up with Mankato East’s size as they lost a basketball game 72-53 in Ove Berven Gym Tuesday.

The frontcourt of Mankato East (5-2 overall, 3-1 Big Nine) combined for 45 points as the Cougars outscored Austin 39-25 in the second half.

“We had a six minute segment where it kind of slipped away from us,” Austin head coach Todd Johnson said.

Sophomore Mer Gach poured in a career-high 16 points in the loss for Austin (0-7 overall, 0-4 Big Nine).

East 33 39 — 72

Austin 28 25 — 53

Austin scoring: Mer Gach, 16; Jenna Svoboda, 11; Steph Justice, 9; Taylor Lady, 6; Jocelyn Sheehan, 6; Gabby Wagner, 3; Merideth Fritz, 2