Happy New Year to the South Sioux City Cardinal girls as they win their first game of 2023 over the Norfolk Panthers, 59-53.

The Cardinals came into Saturday's game after a January 30th win over Gering, while the Panthers lost its second one-score of the week on Friday night and looked to bounce back on the road.

It was a fairly slow start for both sides, but ultimately it was Norfolk that caught fire near the end of the first quarter, with Tasha Eisenhauer tallying 7 points in the quarter and freshman post Bo Caskey knocking down a pair of shots.

The lead was five for the Panthers heading into the second frame and that's when the Cardinals took flight.

Freshman Bailee Durant showed out, making flashy passes and hitting big shots, scoring 12 points in the half.

Her teammate, junior Brooklyn Heineman, also impressed early on, scoring 9 points and helping South Sioux City open up a 29-22 lead at the half.

The Cardinals continued to take advantage of the Panther's mistakes and led by as much as 13, but Norfolk found a little momentum.

Raina Andreason and Emerson Waldow picked up the Panther pace near the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters to rally Norfolk within 4 points.

The Cardinals were able to put a few more buckets in and control the game with a 59-53 win.

The Cardinal's Brooklyn Heineman led all scorers with 16 points, followed by Bailee Durant with 14 and Abbi Aitken with 10.

Norfolk was led by Tasha Eisenhauer with 14, while Andreason finished with 13 and Waldow chipped in 11.

South Sioux City wins its third game out of its last four played with the win over Class A Norfolk and moves to 3-5 on the season.

Norfolk drops its sixth straight and falls to 1-9 on the year.