Spartans take away Rockets fuel on Senior Night

After a tough Monday night 56-44 home loss to the Atlantic Trojans, which snapped an 8-game winning streak, the Exira-EHK Spartans returned to a win 24 hours later with a Tuesday night 59-17 home win over the Paton-Churdan Rockets.

“It was a hard fought game last night,” said Spartan Head Coach Tom Petersen. “I was very proud of the kids in the second half. It’s good just to get back, get the legs loosened up, and now we’ve got another big game on Friday against CAM.”

It was also Senior Night as Alissa Testroet and Harlee Fahn were honored following the game.

“I’ve been playing basketball since I was little,” Fahn said. “I’ve looked up to the high school girls since I was probably five. I’ve always wanted to be like them, and to be a part of this team means the world to me. It’s a great group of girls to experience this season with.”

The game opened as a seesaw battle with Rockets Sophomore Alivya Smith making the first shot of the game from mid-range. The Spartans got their first lead of the game just past the midway point when Sophomore Taryn Petersen banked home a mid-range floater followed by free throws from Junior Jaelynn Petersen leading 11-8 heading into the second quarter.

The Spartans kept the Rockets off the scoreboard for a majority of the second quarter going on an 18-0 run, with 11 points coming from Jaelynn Petersen on multiple layups and a 3-point shot. The Rockets first basket came on a 3-pointer from Sophomore Kaliyah Minnihan, but the Spartans still had a 41-11 point lead at halftime.

“We started moving better in the second quarter,” said Tom Petersen. “Paton-Churdan has improved a ton. She [Jaelynn] is still coming into her own. She wasn’t here the first half of the season. She’s starting to get a better feel. It’s kids sharing the ball a lot more. It was a good quarter for us.”

The Rockets opened the third quarter with the first two shots, but the Spartans offense got going once again closing out the quarter on a 9-0 run with contributions up-and-down the lineup, including a layup from Fahn where Junior Kadence Sporrer assisted the ball to her.

“Thanks to my teammates,” Fahn said. “They gave great passes to help me finish at the hoop. When we get rebounds on defense, we get out and go. The momentum is there, and it’s just easier for us.”

With such a large lead heading into the final quarter, Petersen substituted his starters for his bench players, including Freshman Brooklyn Snider who made a 3-point shot that erupted her teammates with applause on the bench.

“Anytime those girls get a chance to do something, it’s just awesome,” Petersen said. “When you’re young like that, it’s usually pretty satisfactory to get a uniform. You don’t know when you’re going to get on the floor.”

The Spartans will round out their regular season on the road against the 10-9 CAM Cougars, who have won four consecutive games. The Cougars are led by Senior Maddie Richter averaging 16.3 points per game, along with Sophomore Ada Hansen averaging 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

“We have to be focused the next two days of practice,” Petersen added. “They’re not the same basketball team that we played the first time around, and our girls know that. It’s always tough to play down there in Anita, so hopefully the girls will be ready to go.”