Spartan girls open season with overtime win at Lo-Ma

 LOGAN (Nov. 19) -- Senior Leslie Caniglia scored 13 of her team-high 17 points after halftime and freshman Macy Emgarten added 12 Monday night as Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton outlasted Logan-Magnolia 57-55 in overtime to open the girls basketball season.
 Jacey Anthofer chipped in three 3-pointers and 11 points for the Spartans, who trailed by as many as 12 in the first half and outscored the Panthers 20-11 during the last 11 minutes of regulation to force OT.
 Ranked 13th in Class 1A to start the year, Exira-EHK won the extra session 6-4, holding on for the win when Lo-Ma missed a potential go-ahead trey with about four seconds left. The ball went out of bounds off a Panther player and the Spartans inbouded and were able to run out the clock.
 “You could just tell it’s the first game of the season and a lot of young kids out there playing, trying to figure out what some of their roles are going to be,” said E-EHK head coach Tom Petersen. “For us to have an off shooting night and still find a way to win, I was pretty happy with what the girls did."
 The Spartans graduated two of the best players in program history last May in Sophia Peppers and Kealey Nelson, who combined for nearly 35 points a game, but they also return several key contributors from last year’s state semifinalist.
 Sophomore point guard Tatum Grubbs is the top returning scorer (10.3 ppg.), Ellie Schultes averaged 7.8 last year and Kamryn Waymire chipped in 5.4. Those three girls combined to shoot 3-for-20 on Monday and scored nine points combined, but others picked up the slack.
 Emillie Thompson paced the Panthers with 19 points, followed by Kylie Morrison 15 and Violet Lapke 13. Thompson and Lapke combined to drill nine treys.