No. 12-ranked Exira-EHK prevails 62-34, will host Woodbine Tuesday
By Drew Herron - AJ/NT Sports / Feb. 13, 2014
ELK HORN – It took all of five seconds for Exira-EHK to
permanently seize the lead against West Harrison Thursday night, and after
working through a few minor kinks, the Spartans are moving on to the second
round of Regional Tournament play.
Exira-EHK knocked off the Hawkeyes 62-34 in a game that was
never really close.
“Win today, practice tomorrow,” Spartans head coach Tom
Petersen said afterwards. “That’s my whole philosophy, so we will practice
tomorrow, and move forward.”
Nine different Spartan players would make their mark in the
score book, while junior Rachel Smith led everyone with 17 points on the night.
Freshman Mara Burmeister, who finished with 10, hit a
3-pointer from the wing off a pass from the opening tip, and Exira-EHK never
trailed.
Heavy favorites heading in, EEHK was initially committed to
experimenting with its defensive schemes in a live situation. A 1-2-1-1 zone
defense was lifted in favor of a 1-3-1, and a 2-2-1, and then eventually
man-to-man.
After a somewhat rocky start, the Spartans settled in and
dominated their opponents.
“We looked a little bit shell shocked the first few
minutes,” coach Petersen says. “But one thing we talked about and something the
girls need to understand is, just because it’s a tournament game, we still need
to continue to do the same things that have worked for us all year.”
EEHK led 16-2 after the first quarter, and 35-10 at the
half.
One area of importance for the Spartans Thursday was the
need to run the court, and bury their guests in transition.
It worked pretty effectively, however a 20-of-81 shooting
performance and multiple missed opportunities held back an otherwise
outstanding collective exploit.
Exira-EHK was able to get up and down the court in a hurry,
but missed lay-ups and a 17-of-35 effort from the free throw line kept the
Spartans from near-perfection.
“Overall, I’m satisfied, but we need to be able to step up
and make free throws,” coach Petersen says. “That’s what it is going to come
down to later in the tournament.”
At the end of three quarters, Exira-EHK led 55-19, a spread
that activated the continuously running clock for the final frame.
However, 57 total free throws on the night, the majority of
which came in the fourth, slowed things down a bit.
If the Spartans had made the most of the chances afforded
them, they might have cracked 100 points.
“We need to improve our execution on the offensive side,”
coach Petersen says. “It’s a lot better than turnovers, but we need to be able
to finish better. We missed a lot of shots that were from two or three feet. We
had multiple opportunities and set plays for them, we just need to be able to
finish.”
With the victory, Exira-EHK improves its record to 16-5 on
the season, and they advance on to the second round of tournament play. On
Tuesday night, the Spartans will host Woodbine, who defeated Whiting 66-47
Thursday to move on.
Game Scoring (02/13):
EXIRA-EHK (16-5): Rachel Smith 17, Mara Burmeister 10,
Kennedy Madsen 9, Claire Paulsen 6, Sydney Parker 5, Alex Petersen 4, Maggie
Rasmussen 4, Taylor Paulsen 3, Sadie Schultes 2 Free Throws: 18/35
WEST HARRISON (3-18): Courtney Forbes 11, Miranda Bertelsen
9, Alexis Pettid 8, Morgan Shearer 4, Alyssa Hatcher 2 Free Throws: 10/22
#exira-ehk #iowaprep
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