Spartans drop Regional Final to Hawks
In a game the Spartans led 20-17 at halftime, the tables turned when the Remsen St. Mary’s Hawks opened the third quarter on a 17-0 run that ultimately secured a 51-43 victory.
“We had a shaky third quarter obviously,” said Spartans Head Coach Tom Petersen. “We just didn’t have a lot of things go our way in the third, but for our girls to battle and not quit, our girls did that tonight and that’s all I can ask out of them.”
The Hawks opened the game on a 5-0 run, including a 3-pointer to open the scoring from Junior Carmindee Ricke. Senior Spartan Shay Burmeister got her team on the board first, cutting the Hawks lead to 5-2.
The Hawks answered back quickly with a 3-pointer from Junior Halle Galles. Petersen then called his first timeout of the night.
Burmeister added another 3-pointer shortly after the timeout to put the Spartans down by 3 once again. With 7.9 second remaining, Freshman Brylie Andersen was fouled, making 1 of 2 free throws pulling the Spartans to within 4, down 14-10 entering the second quarter.
Shortly into the second quarter, Andersen made a bucket, bringing the Spartans within one, getting the crowd on its feet. They kept themselves within striking distance when Sophomore Harlee Fahn was there for a put-back on a missed shot.
Just before halftime, Burmeister made a layup giving the Spartans a 20-17 lead heading into the locker room. She was leading the Spartans in scoring with 11 points at the half.
“She [Burmeister] wanted the ball in her hands,” Petersen said. “They were really trying to take Quinn out of it with some uncharacteristic things that we were doing there, but Shay took over. That’s what she’s provided. I would say it’s probably the best game I’ve seen her play.”
The Hawks turned the game in their favor by opening the third quarter on a 17-0 run, which included the first two buckets from Junior Whitney Jensen, followed by a bucket from Junior Mya Bunkers.
The Hawks run finally came to an end when Burmeister made a bucket, closing the gap to 34-22. After that, the Hawks continued to dominate with 3-pointers from Bunkers and Jensen. The Spartans added a few 3-pointers themselves from Burmeister and Junior Hannah Nelson, trailing 39-28 entering the fourth quarter.
Burmeister got the Spartans off on the right track opening the fourth quarter with a shot from 3-point range. The Hawks continued to add buckets with the clock winding down. Andersen and Grubbs made 3-pointers on back-to-back Spartan possessions, getting themselves with 6 points, but ultimately the Hawks won and celebrated their Regional Final victory.
“We didn’t execute on the offensive side very well,” Petersen said. “We had opportunities, we had some shots and when your shots don’t fall, the lead tends to balloon a little bit. We battled back and I think we cut it to 8 or 7. It was right there. Our girls really played their butts off and that’s all I can ask.”
The Spartans wrapped up their season with a 19-5 record. Petersen highlighted some positive moments throughout the season.
“I don’t think there was a lot of people that thought we would get back to a Regional Final,” he said. “But I think it was pretty obvious we’re deserving to be here. I think that we gave them everything that they could handle.”
Seniors Makenzie Riley, Grubbs and Burmeister won’t return due to graduation. Petersen was grateful for their time and contributions to the program and will miss them.
“Makenzie Riley, this is her first year playing and the thing that I said to her in there was that I couldn’t thank her enough,” Petersen added. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her, so I hope that it was worth it for her. I hope that she enjoyed it because I enjoyed coaching her. Great personality and I’m going to miss her. The other two have been there, so I’ve been coaching those other two for a long time. What they’ve done for our program is pretty special. They’ve been to four Regional Finals in a row, two state tournament trips also. They don’t have anything to hang their heads about. I’m going to miss them.”
Coming into the final game, Grubbs was leading the team with 413 points and 107 assists. Burmeister had 289 points with 86 assists. Riley had 126 points, along with 127 rebounds.
The Spartans won their first two tournament games to get to the Regional Finals, including a 56-20 win over the Ar-We-Va Rockets and a 63-47 victory over the Coon-Rapids Bayard Crusaders.
“We didn’t quit,” Petersen said. “We were there. The kids had opportunities down the stretch. Just not quitting and that’s what life is. This isn’t about winning and losing, this is about learning and I hope that our girls learn something from this. I hope they can take some of these things that we’ve talked about throughout the season.”