On a night when the offense struggled a bit, the No 5-ranked Hayfield Vikings relied on its defense to get the 58-40 win over New Richland-HEG Saturday night.

The Vikings held NRHEG to just 13 points in the first half.

“The defense really carried us tonight,” co-coach Casey Krekling said. “It’s nice to know that when we struggled offensively that we could step up in a different way.”

Hayfield made just eight three-pointers out of 41 shots on the night. They were led by Elecia Brown with 18 points. Maggie Streightiff and Carrie Rutledge each added 13 points. Kate Kruger was big on the boards with 11 rebounds, eight of which were offensive.

The Vikings will play section rival Goodhue Tuesday night.

Hayfield 33 25 — 58

NRHEG 13 27 — 40

Elecia Brown 18, Maggie Streightiff 13, Carrie Rutledge 13, Olivia Matti 8, Kate Kruger 3, Abby Stasko 3. Freethrows: 6-10