Spartans whip Woodbine 74-48, advance to Regional semifinal against Adair-Casey
By Drew Herron - AJ/NT Sports / Feb. 18, 2014
ELK HORN – Four different Spartan players finished in double
figures, and once things started clicking Tuesday night against Woodbine, it
did not take long for everything to fall into place.
Exira-EHK would end up lashing Woodbine via a 74-48 final to
advance on towards Friday’s Class 1A Region 8 semifinal.
“It’s a game of runs, and tonight we did a good job of
putting together multiple runs,” Exira-EHK head coach Tom Petersen said
afterwards. “I was proud of the way we battled. We did a lot of good things
from the second quarter on.”
A constraining 17-17 tie after one quarter was lifted in the
second frame, and Exira-EHK began to build inertia. The Spartans opened the
second quarter on a 14-1 run before Woodbine would call a time out in hopes of
regrouping. That would never happen, as EEHK would outscore the Tigers 42-14
over the middle two quarters, and soon the game was decidedly in the Spartans’
hands.
Exira-EHK post Kennedy Madsen led all scorers with 16
points, and notched a double-double with 10 boards. More importantly, she was a
steady source of scoring production from the low block, and the Spartans were
more than happy to oblige what Woodbine was giving them in terms of scarce defensive
coverage in the paint.
“They played behind the post, and that’s something we saw on
film,” coach Petersen says. “One thing we talked about was to make sure we
attack the interior as much as possible. We wanted to attack the basket and not
settle.”
The team’s top two scorers average-wise heading into Tuesday
got their bite at the apple as well, with Rachel Smith and Claire Paulsen each
finishing with 15 points.
But it’s Madsen’s 16 and freshman Maggie Robinson’s 11
points that helped guide the Spartans’ along to a season-high 74 points.
It was an encouraging collective
display for a team that continues to grow from week-to-week.
“We had some girls step up for us tonight,” coach Petersen
says. “No. 1 is Kennedy Madsen. The first half, that is the best she has played
all season long. And for Maggie to come off the bench and add 11, we’ve got to
have that. For us to be successful we need to have that balance.”
Helping the team’s effort was its efficiency from the free
throw line, where the Spartans hit 22-of-28 against Woodbine. By contrast, EEHK
sank just 17-of-35 last week against West Harrison, and that improved figure is
something the team is almost certainly going to need to rely on as they progress
along in the tournament.
In the five practices leading up to Tuesday’s game, the
Spartans have devoted significant time on shooting free throws, and the 79
percent shown against Woodbine could be offered as proof that the team is
getting the message.
This victory drives Exira-EHK into a Regional semifinal
meeting with Adair-Casey (21-3), this year’s inaugural Rolling Valley
Conference champs, and last year’s champs for the Rolling Hills.
Friday will be the third crack the Spartans will have at No.
8-ranked AC, who defeated them twice during conference play. Most recently,
Exira-EHK played them tough in a 36-33 loss to the Lady Bombers on Feb. 10.
It’s going to be the toughest challenge to date for this
Spartans squad, who must make the third time a charm if they wish to prolong
their run.
“We were fortunate enough to hold them to them to 36
(points) last time, and I don’t see that happening again,” coach Petersen says.
“We know we can’t stop (London) Vais, we want to contain her as much as we can.
Offensively, we need to make better decisions, and we can’t turn the ball over
that much. We need to have confidence shooting the ball because early in this
game the adrenaline took over, and we weren’t shooting, we were throwing
shots.”
Game Scoring (02/18)
EXIRA-EHK (17-5): Kennedy Madsen 16, Claire Paulsen 15,
Rachel Smith 15, Maggie Rasmussen 11, Sydney Parker 6, Alex Petersen 2, Emily
Copic 2, Katie Kunik 2, Rachel Walker 1
Free Throws: 22/28
WOODBINE (12-12): Melissa Sherer 14, Megan Maaske 12,
Allison Lee 6, Heathr Smith 5, Shelby Behrendt 4, Bailee Meyer 4, Daisha Nuzum 3 Free Throws: 9/17
#exira-ehk #iowaprep #iahsbkb
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