Spartans fall to Cougars on Senior Night
In the third quarter of the Exira-EHK girls basketball game Friday night at home with the game tied at 30 points apiece against the CAM Cougars, the Cougar offense caught fire and erupted with a 10-0 run, leading to a 67-55 victory, and handing the Spartans their 6th loss.
“We were very flat,” said Spartan Head Coach Tom Petersen. “We were flat at the beginning of the game, we were going through motions unfortunately. We were running different defenses, but we didn’t know where we were supposed to be at times.”
The game started out as a back-and-forth affair with the first buckets of the night being scored via free throws by Sophomore Spartan Jaelynn Petersen. Cougar Senior Eva Steffensen scored shortly after getting her team on the board. The Spartans took command of the game momentarily with a 9-3 run that was capped off by a shot up at the net from Junior Harlee Fahn making it a 12-5 game, but the Cougars responded with a 6-0 run to close out the quarter with the final shot of the game coming Senior Meredith Rich.
The Cougars opened up the second quarter with free throws from Senior Kiera Nichols, followed by a mid-range basket from Senior Emma Follmann and a 3-pointer from Senior Carley Dennis, making it 18-14.
Freshman Spartan Taryn Petersen answered back with a 3-point shot, putting the Spartans down by one. Following Petersen’s shot, the Cougars continued to score with Steffensen knocking down free throws and a layup, putting her team up 27-22, and forcing a timeout from Petersen.
“She’s the best player in the conference,” said Tom Petersen of Steffensen. “This year she has really elevated her game. She’s taken it to a different level. That’s one of the things I’ve noticed on film when I watch her. Endurance wise, she’s in better shape than I’ve ever seen her.”
When play resumed, Rich made a 3-point shot, but Jaelynn Petersen made the final two baskets of the half, putting her team down only 30-26.
The Spartans opened the third quarter with back-to-back shots from Junior Mayne Jorgensen and Jaelynn Petersen tying the game at 30. But following Petersen’s shot, the Cougars went on a 10-0 run that forced another timeout from Petersen.
The Spartans answered back coming out of the timeout with 3-pointers from Taryn Petersen and Sophomore Kadence Sporrer, but following that, the Cougar offense continued to click going on a 9-3 run until Jaelynn Petersen made a shot from 3-point range to close out the quarter with the Spartans still trailing by seven.
The fourth quarter was taken over by Steffensen as she scored multiple points for the Cougars, including a few layups, along with a basket from Follmann and Dennis. Taryn Petersen knocked down the final shot from 3-point range, but the Cougars hung on for the win.
Following the game, Hannah Nelson was honored by the school for Senior Night for her contributions to the program.
“Hannah is one of the nicest, most genuine girls you’ll ever meet,” Petersen said. “She was part of a couple of those state tournament teams that are up on the wall there. She’s one of the ones that really understands that. I’m going to miss her tremendously.”