LEROY — The LeRoy-Ostrander girls basketball team looked like it was going to let things slip away late in the game, but the Cardinals found their second wind just in time to beat Rushford-Peterson 73-63 in LeRoy Monday.

The Cardinals (5-9 overall) led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but the Trojans (4-12 overall) used an 8-0 run to get within 65-60 with 3:35 left in the game. LO’s starting five, who played the majority of the second half, may have been tired, but they dug a little deeper to put together a a 6-0 spurt that iced the game.

Kate Helgeson, who had seven points, 12 assists and four rebounds, hit two free throws to put LO up 67-60, Haley Hungerholt, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds, hit two free throws to put LO up 69-60 and Lauren Helgeson, who piled on 26 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and three steals, iced the game when she scored to make it 71-60 with 1:23 left.

“They were the iron five in the second half and that was very important for us,” LO interim head coach Ryan Wehrenberg said. “We’ve struggled with pressure this season, but tonight we were able to break it and get good shots.”

Lauren, who played the final four minutes of the game with four fouls, was able to do most of her damage inside off of feeds from her sister Kate.

“They only had one big girl so I knew I could go inside,” Lauren said. “Kate and I work really well together.”

Hungerholt is a 2,000-point career scorer for the Cardinals and she was especially driven to finish the game on Monday.

She hit a big three-pointer early in the game to put the Cards up 21-4.

“We really wanted to win. We’ve never beaten Rushford before,” Hungerholt said. “The start was big. Our goal was to get going early on.”

RP 32  31  —  63

LO 43  30  —  73

LO scoring: Lauren Helgeson, 26; Haley Hungerholt, 19; Emily Hofner, 14; Kate Helgeson, 7; Libertee Smalley, 5; Kylie Welsh, 2; free throws: 50 percent (12-for-24); rebounds: 46 (Hungerholt, 10); turnovers: 16