Thursday, February 13, 2014

GIRLS HOOPS: Spartans whip West Harrison to move on to second round

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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