Spartans advance to next round of tournament

The Exira-EHK girls varsity basketball team punched their ticket to the Regionals Finals of tournament play pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 63-47 victory over the Coon Rapids-Bayard Crusaders Friday night at home.

“It’s very fortunate to be honest with you,” said Spartans Head Coach Tom Petersen. “We didn’t play well whatsoever and just had a very uncharacteristic night.”

The first bucket went to the Crusaders, but soon after, Senior Shay Burmeister was fouled, making both free throws to tie the game. Freshman Jaelynn Petersen gave the Spartans their first lead of the night with a layup at 4-2.

The Spartans got their wheels turning with an 8-0 run to go up 12-3 when Crusaders head coach Kaitlyn McAlister called a timeout with just over three and a half minutes remaining.

Junior Crusader Breeley Clayburg made a bucket to end the Spartans run and put her team down by seven points. Junior Crusader Lydia Hofbauer came down the court and made a 3-point shot to put them down by four.

Senior Quinn Grubbs ended their run with a layup to give the Spartans a 14-8 lead. A few more buckets were exchanged with the Spartans leading 15-12 at the end of the quarter.

Burmeister got the Spartans going with a bucket to open the quarter. Crusaders made a bucket right after, forcing Petersen to call a timeout.

Freshman Crusaders Aubrey Hofbauer made a shot from 3-point range to give the Crusaders their first lead since the opening minutes. Sophomore Harlee Fahn got the Spartans right back in front with a bucket shortly after. The Spartans were holding onto a 24-23 lead at halftime.

“Coach Petersen always talks about defense and defense is key in every game we always play,” Fahn said. “We just had to pick it up on the defensive side.”

The Spartans got off to a strong start opening the third quarter with a 3-pointer and putting themselves up by four points. Burmeister came down court on the next Spartan possession and made a 3-point shot, expanding the Spartans lead by five.

Freshman Crusader Mia Clayburg hit a buzzer beater to end the third quarter, putting her team just two points back of the Spartans heading into the final quarter.

Freshman Ella Heithoff opened the fourth quarter with a 3-point shot, putting the Crusaders up 41-40. Petersen was fouled on a made shot, missed the extra attempt, but Junior Hannah Nelson was there to grab the rebound and scored a layup giving the Spartans a 3-point lead.

Grubbs was fouled a few plays later, where she made both of her free throw attempts. Grubbs got in on the action once again as she assisted the ball to Fahn, who went in for a basket and put the Spartans up by nine.

A timeout was called with just five and a half minutes to go with the Spartans hanging onto a 50-43 lead. When play resumed, the Spartans went on a 10-4 run and ultimately closed out the game.

“Honestly, it feels great,” Fahn said. “Going back to Regional Finals is something I’ve been looking forward to all season.”

The Spartans will play the 22-1 Remsen St. Mary’s Hawks Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Hawks are led by Junior Whitney Jensen with 336 points and 126 rebounds and Junior Mya Bunkers with 88 assists.

“I told the girls, every step, everybody gets better,” Petersen said. “You went from 64 to 32, and now you’re down to the final 16 teams. Every team is going to be better all the way throughout. We’re going to have to play a lot better on Wednesday for us to have an opportunity to stay in the game.”