Spartans cruise to eighth consecutive win

Seniors Quinn Grubbs and Shay Burmeister led the Spartans in scoring as they cruised to their eighth consecutive victory, 72-25, over the West Harrison Hawkeyes.

“We wanted to make sure that we don’t develop bad habits while we were playing,” said Spartans Head Coach Tom Petersen. “I thought in the beginning we were kind of giving up too much dribble penetration, so we talked a little bit about it.”

Junior Hannah Nelson got the Spartans going to open the game, dropping the first bucket to give her team an early 2-0 lead. The Hawkeyes got a chance to tie the game early on and they did when Junior Hawkeye Maclayn Houston was fouled, and made both free throws tying the game at 4.

The Spartans then took control of the game going on a 16-0 run that started with a bucket from Nelson, a 3-pointer from Burmeister and some shots from Grubbs that put the Spartans up 20-4 and forced Hawkeyes head coach Drew Radloff to call a timeout.

When play resumed, Sophomore Hawkeye Tylar Stirtz made a bucket that ended the Spartans deep run. But soon, the Spartans got right back at it with Burmeister hitting another 3-point shot, helping the Spartans take a 17-point lead into the second quarter.

“Our defense rotation has been tremendously better the past couple of games,” Burmeister said. “I think our chemistry is finally starting to come together and we’re all starting to play as one, and it’s really fun.”

Sophomore Mayne Jorgensen opened the quarter with an assist to Burmeister who made a bucket and got the crowd to its feet. A few minutes later, Grubbs hit a shot from 3-point range, putting the Spartans up by 16. Senior Makenzie Riley was fouled just under two minutes to go until halftime. She made 1 of 2 free throw attempts. Houston got a bucket for her team, the first for the Hawkeyes in the second quarter.

Another bucket by Burmeister and Grubbs had the Spartans taking a 27-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

Burmeister continued her impressive night opening the third quarter with another basket. Sophomore Harlee Fahn got in on the action hitting a shot from downtown that put the Spartans up by 40 and had them on a 14-1 run. They took an 18-1 run into the final quarter.

30 seconds into the final quarter, Grubbs was fouled, sending her to the line where she dropped 1 of 2 free throws, giving her team a 45-point lead. Freshman Jaelynn Petersen came down court for a bucket expanding the Spartans run to 23-1.

The Spartans ultimately won the game in dominant fashion. Peterson credited the girls for the win and contributions by the team.

“That’s what’s going to determine our success in the postseason,” he said. “Those gals have got to come in and provide a spark. We’ve talked about it many times. We have a couple of gals that are not 100% and we’ve got some kids that are stepping into those shoes and they’re doing a darn good job. I’m proud of them, but like I said, it takes all five to do everything, so hopefully they can continue to do that.”

After the conclusion of the game, Grubbs, Riley and Burmeister were honored in their final season of basketball with the Spartans. Each girl was given a rose and had their name announced walking out to the center of the gym where they received an ovation.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always dreamed of playing for this team,” Burmeister said. “It’s been an honor playing with Quinn the past four years, Makenzie this year and all the girls I’ve played with.”

The Spartans won’t have much time to rest with their next game Tuesday night on the road at 6 p.m. against the 9-5 Coon Rapids-Bayard Crusaders who have won four consecutive games. The Crusaders are led by Breeley Clayburg with 187 points and 149 rebounds.

“They’re not the same basketball team that we played the first go around either,” Petersen said. “We’re going to have our hands full and we know that. We are going to have to make sure that we are ready to play. I’m hoping my kids continue to play pretty good basketball."

 
 

 

Harlan Newspapers

1114 7th Street
P.O. Box 721
Harlan, IA 51537-0721

(800) 909-6397
news2@harlanonline.com

Comment Here