St. Albert girls end Spartans’ state tourney chase

 HARLAN (Feb. 26) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls fought from behind nearly all 32 minutes Wednesday night but couldn’t put together the big run necessary to rattle St. Albert.
 Trailing once the entire game at 4-2, the Saintes used their overall speed and athleticism to build a 12-point lead and held off the eighth-ranked Spartans 65-54 in a Class 1A regional final in Harlan.
 St. Albert advanced to the state tournament with a 13-11 record and faced top-ranked Newell-Fonda (24-0) in a first round game Wednesday (March 4) at Wells Fargo Arena.
 Exira-EHK, which had won 21 straight games since a season-opening loss to 2A state qualifier Logan-Magnolia, finished 21-2 overall.
 “Just never really got in sync tonight... didn’t get in a groove,” said Spartans’ head coach Tom Petersen. “We didn’t really establish (a run). It seemed like we might get some stops... we might score two points (or) four, but all of a sudden they would hit a three-pointer or we would turn the ball over a couple of times.
 “It’s nothing we haven’t seen. We have athletes as well. Tonight, they just outplayed us. It’s pretty simple.”
 Exira-EHK shot just 17-of-64 overall (26.6 percent), including 6-of-25 from the three-point arc. Tatum Grubbs led the team with 16 points before fouling out with 2:43 to play. Quinn Grubbs scored 13 points, Macy Emgarten had 12 and Mollie Rasmussen added six.
 Ellie Schultes, one of three seniors on the team along with Jacey Anthofer and Kamryn Waymire, added five assists and three points. Emgarten and Quinn Grubbs led the way with nine and eight rebounds, respectively, combining for 12 offensive boards.
 “I’m proud of our kids in everything that they did. They fought. They played their tails off until the very end,” Petersen said. “There’s nothing to hang their heads on. It’s just tough. We’re a close-knit family. I know there’s only nine (players), but we’re saying goodbye to three. Those are three kids that have been with me for about seven years. I’m heartbroken for our kids."
 Junior Allie Petry led the Saintes with 24 points, followed by Jordyn Blaha with 17 (15 in the second half) and Lauren Williams with 12 off the bench. Williams had five of the team’s 12 offensive boards. St. Albert scored five offensive putbacks in the first half alone to build a 26-19 lead at the break.
 Exira-EHK cut the margin to four points early in the third quarter before the Saintes responded with a 10-2 run. The Spartans twice pulled within five points late in the game but St. Albert answered again.