Waterville-Elysian-Morristown had a pretty simple game plan heading into its Gopher Conference girls basketball game Monday against Mankato Loyola: Make the Crusaders hit the outside shot.

The Buccaneers strategy worked, as the Crusaders were forced to keep the ball outside and had trouble knocking down shots. WEM led by as many as 11 before holding on for a 46-40 victory at Fitzgerald Gymnasium.

“We need to control the boards and get out and run and we didn’t do that,” Crusaders head coach Kari Koester said. “That was probably our poorest offensive effort all season.”

Both teams struggled offensively to start the game, as the Bucs and Crusaders were tied 2-2 five minutes into the contest.

Loyola led on only two occasions — its last lead coming on a Maria Peterson lay-in with just under six minutes to play in the first half. But the Bucs went on a 9-3 run to finish the half and lead 21-17 at the break.

“They adjusted well to our press and we had to back off a little bit to avoid foul trouble,” WEM head coach Linda Coleman said.

WEM came out firing in the second half, as Amanda Barton knocked down a three to push the Bucs’ lead to nine. With eight minutes to play, they led by 11 points. A pair of 3s by Stephanie Price and Lizzy Karp pulled the Crusaders as close as seven, but they could get no closer. Two possessions later, Stephanie Lindahl’s put-back inside pushed the lead back to 11.

Loyola was dealt another blow when Meghan Kelly — the team’s best inside player — fouled out with just over two minutes to play.

“We need her on the floor,” Koester said. “It makes it more difficult to win with her on the bench so we let her play it out.”

The Crusaders needed Kelly down the stretch, too. When Loyola fouled WEM and put them on the line, the Bucs had almost no trouble gaining rebounds following missed free throws.

“They had a definite size advantage over us,” Koester said. “But that’s no excuse for how many offensive rebounds we gave up tonight. Many of the times, we had position but we didn’t do a good enough job of putting a body on someone.”

Karp led the Crusaders with 10 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Kelly and Nicole Menke added seven points and six rebounds apiece.

Cassie Masberg led all scorers with 11 points for the Bucs. Megan Bakken added 10 points.

Both teams play against today. The Bucs (10-12, 7-7) are at United South Central while Loyola (10-12, 5-7) hosts Medford.