GIRLS HOOPS: Spartans turn it up in second half to bury Boyer Valley

Exira-EHK triumphs 55-32, improves record to 8-4

By Drew Herron - AJ/NT Sports / Jan. 14, 2014

ELK HORN – A frustrating and offensively stagnant effort lifted after two troubling quarters, but if one looked at the final score Tuesday night, it might be perhaps difficult to believe the Spartans struggled at all against Boyer Valley.

Perhaps being the operative word.

“The halftime discussion was not the happiest speech in the world,” said Spartans coach Tom Petersen. “Our communication was poor and we were out of position a lot. The second half, we had a lot more communication and a lot more movement.”

Exira-EHK pulled it together in the second half to win handily over Boyer Valley 55-32 in a contest that was much closer than the final score indicates.

The Spartans used 13 different players in the opening half, and held a narrow 26-23 lead at the break.

Following a second quarter that was slowed on both sides by fouls and trips to the free throw line, the rhythm of the game opened up a little in the third quarter, and the Spartans started to find their groove.

Midway through the third, senior Claire Paulsen forced a steal, raced in for a lay-up and then tacked on an “and-1” to kick-start the separation for the Spartans. A defensive stop later, Paulsen sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to drive Exira-EHK ahead 34-23 (their biggest lead yet) and put them on sound footing the rest of the way.

Exira-EHK outscored Boyer Valley 16-3 in the third quarter to take a 42-26 lead into the fourth.

Boyer Valley’s offense continued to struggle and failed to generate much of anything, and their hopes dwindled in the final quarter.  The Spartans switched between a high-pressure man defense and a 2-3 zone with success in the second half.

Claire Paulsen led all scorers with 14 points, followed closely by junior Rachel Smith’s 13. Nine different players would score in the victory.

The win pushes the Spartans’ record to 8-4 on the season, and as mid-January takes hold, coach Petersen is still expecting his team to break out of its shell.

“We’re not moving our feet, and until we start practicing correctly…I’m just going to throw that out there,” coach Petersen says. “We are not practicing well at all. (Monday’s) practice was awful, and I told the team that unless we can figure out a way to become a good practice team, the games are going to continue to be this way. And if that’s the case, changes are going to have to be made.”
“There is just a lot of room for improvement, and it all starts with practice.”

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