The Spring Grove girls won once and lost twice as they opened the 2021-22 basketball season with three games in five days – first on the road, then at home and at a neutral site. Neither of the three contests were closely contested at the end. The Lions (1-2, 1-0 SEC) prevailed, 60-27, in a Nov. 3 battle with another young Lion team. After that conference conquest over Schaeffer Academy at Rochester, it was a tougher task against two older, junior-dominated, larger-school teams from Iowa. Decorah (Iowa Class 4A out of five classes) enjoyed a 69-14 Friday night visit to Spring Grove, and then the Lions went to Luther College in Decorah on Saturday afternoon for the annual Iowa-Minnesota Border Battle. New Hampton (Iowa Class 3A out of five classes) dominated the second half to win, 59-38. In each game, the loser was taken out of contention with turnovers. Spring Grove, in four Border Battles, has now won two and dropped two. The only B-team game of the week was a 36-17 loss against Decorah.
Photo by Lee Epps
SG 60, Schaeffer Academy 27
Spring Grove separated with an early 13-3 run and put the game out of reach with an 18-2 start of the second half. Last year’s starting point guard Emerson Ingvalson was not in uniform with an injury. Returning starter Katelyn Kraus saw limited action with an injury, but she still lifted 3 steals and blocked a shot. Last year’s leading scorer, Jordian Leahy, scored 17 points, and Addyson McHugh also turned in an all-around performance with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Lydia Solum did it all with 6 points, 7 rebounds, a career-high 7 steals and 2 assists with no turnovers. Freshman Sydney Holland contributed 4 steals and 6 assists.
But most impressive were breakout performances from Lions coming off the bench with little or no previous varsity experience. Spring Grove reserves outscored Schaeffer substitutes, 29-4. Freshman Kendal Van Minsel hit 5 of 8 shots from the field and all four free throws while scoring 14 points along with 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists with no turnovers. Eighth grade point guard Siri Konkel sparkled with quickness while adding 7 points. Eighth grader Kylie Hammel, with 8 rebounds, shared backboard honors with Van Minsel while Grove outrebounded their hosts, 43-32.
There was a lot of youth on the floor with Spring Grove using one senior, two juniors, two sophomores, three freshmen and three eighth graders. Schaeffer played with no seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, two freshmen and three eighth graders. Those nine Schaeffer players are the only ones in the program; Schaeffer has no B-team or junior high teams.
Schaeffer junior guard Kate Friese led all scorers and rebounders with an 18-point, 10 rebound double-double. But the home team self-destructed with 37 turnovers. Therefore, they did not shoot very often and shot a miserable 19% when they did. Both teams lost possession 17 times during the first half. But Spring Grove added only seven more turnovers after halftime, scoring their first 20 points of the second half with only one turnover. The Grove girls extended their 27-19 halftime lead into a 47-23 margin, and the rout was on. From the field, SG outshot Schaeffer, 39% to 19%.
But it was different from the free throw line where Grove sank only 5 of 16 charity shots (31%). Van Minsel went 4 for 4, but the rest of the team was a woeful 1 for 12. Schaeffer hit a much better 53% (9 for 17).
Schaeffer defended with a three-quarter-court zone press, which directly forced eight SG turnovers (seven in the first half). But none of those came in the backcourt, so Schaeffer could not convert any of them into quick lay-up points. Meanwhile SG broke the press to score 12 transition lay-up points. And with 27 Spring Grove steals, much of the game was a full-court, up-and-down-the-floor affair. The Grove girls scored nearly half (29) of their 60 points with transition fast breaks.
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SCORE by HALVES
>>SG 27 + 33 = 60
>>SA 19 + 8 = 27
TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 39% (26-67), SA 19% (8-43)
2-pt FG: SG 42% (23-55), 15% (6-39)
3-pt FG: SG 25% (3-12), SA 50% (2-4
Free throws: SG 31% (5-16), SA 53% (9-17)
Rebounds: SG 43, SA 32; Turnovers: SG 24, SA 37; 2nd Chance pts: SG 13, SA 4; Fast break pts: SG 29, SA 4; Points in the paint: SG 49, SA 19; Bench points: SG 29, SA 2; Greatest lead: SG 34, SA 3; Fouls: SG 18, SA 16; Fouled out: SG none, SA 1
>>SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. *starter. Siri Konkel 7P, 2R, 1A, 1S; *Lydia Solum 6P, 7R, 2A, 7S; *Sydney Holland 4R, 6A, 4S, 1B; Addison Halverson 2P, 1R; *Ava Olerud 3P, 1R, 1A; Kendal Van Minsel 14P, 8R, 2A, 2; Kati Klug – no stats; *Addyson McHugh 9P, 7R, 2A, 6S, 2B; Kylie Hammel 2P, 8R, 1A, 1S; *Jordian Leahy 17P, 4R, 2A, 3S, 1B; Emerson Ingvalson – out injured; Katelyn Kraus 1R, 3S, 1B
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SG 14, Decorah 69
It was the first win for Decorah (1-2) and the first setback for Spring Grove. The Vikings scored the first 11 points of the game and dropped back out of their full-court defense after taking a 24-11 lead midway through the first half. The Lions added only one basket during the final three-fourths of the game. There were few highlights for the Lions, but Lydia Solum collected a career-high 13 rebounds. Spring Grove had more turnovers (35) than shot attempts (33). And when they shot, the Lions hit only 13% from the field. The visitors shot an amazing 56% (10 for 18) from 3-point range and 33% from closer in. Decorah went to the free throw line for 22 attempts (12 for 22) while limiting the Lions to only seven free throws (4 for 7).
The Vikings had 15 assists with only nine turnovers. Junior Bryar Duwe scored 22 points with 16 from sophomore Yazmeen Whitsitt. Decorah is mostly a junior team with three sophomores and only one senior. It was only the fifth meeting between the two programs; the Vikings have won four.
SCORE by HALVES
>>SG 11+ 3 = 14
>>Dec 38+31=69
TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 13% (4-32), Dec 39% (24-61)
2-pt FG: SG 11% (2-19), Dec 33% (14-43)
3-pt FG: SG 17% (2-12), Dec 56% (10-18)
Free throws: SG 57% (4-7), Dec 55% (12-22)
Rebounds: SG 29, Dec 35; Turnovers: SG 35, Dec 9; 2nd Chance pts: SG 2, Dec 12; Fast break pts: SG 2, Dec 12; Points in paint: SG 6, Dec 32; Greatest lead: SG 0, Dec 55; Fouls: SG 17, Dec 11
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. *starter. Siri Konkel 2P, 1R, 1A; *Lydia Solum 5P, 13R; *Sydney Holland no stats; Addison Halverson 1R; *Ava Olerud 3R; Kendal Van Minsel 2P, 3R; Kati Klug 1S; *Addyson McHugh 3P, 2R, 1A, 4S; Kylie Hammel no stats; Cierra Blaskowski no stats; *Jordian Leahy 2P, 5R, 1S; Emerson Ingvalson out injured; Katelyn Kraus 1R, 1A, 1B
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SG 38, New Hampton 59
Before the final 21-point spread was in the book, Spring Grove had a six-point lead in the second quarter. (Games in Iowa are segmented in quarters rather than halves.) While the Lions were suffering through turnovers on six of their first eight possessions, the Chickasaws hit half of their first eight shots to lead 9-0. But Spring Grove suddenly began to protect the ball and hit half of 14 shots, including three straight 3-point baskets from three different players – Katelyn Kraus, Lydia Solum and Siri Konkel – to forge a 17-to-2 run for a 17-11 lead.
But the Lions were then foiled by fouls while New Hampton rallied first from the free throw line and then with a couple of fast breaks. The Grove girls were whistled for 14 fouls before halftime. The Iowans, who had scored the first nine points of the game, scored the final nine points of the half to lead 28-22 at the break.
The Lions opened the second half with a Jordian Leahy trey; they never caught up but were within one (30-29) before succumbing to turnovers again. They finished with 25 lost possessions, while New Hampton handled the ball very well with only 10 turnovers. On defense, Spring Grove had far fewer fouls (4) in the second half, but did not protect the basket as the Chickasaws continued to penetrate with both the dribble and the pass. And New Hampton outraced the Lions up and down the court for 27 fast-break, lay-up points. The Chickasaws had so much success getting to the hoop that they did not need 3-point shots. They scored 56 of their 59 points from inside the lane. They left a slew of points at the foul line while sinking only 10 of 25 free throws.
Spring Grove had far less success taking the ball inside and therefore earned only seven free throws (2 for 7). The Lions shot reasonably well from 3-point land (6 for 21, 29%), but it was not nearly enough. Statistically, they competed best beneath the backboards with 28 rebounds to the Chickasaws’ 29. Solum and Addyson McHugh each rebounded seven times; Solum blocked four shots. In her third varsity appearance, eighth grade point guard Siri Konkel came off the bench to hit 4 of 6 shots for a team-high 11 points along with 5 rebounds.
For the Chickasaws, junior point guard Carlee Rochford scored 26 points while leading and often finishing fast breaks.
SCORE by QUARTERS
>>SG 8 +14+ 9+ 7 = 38
>>NH 11+17+17+14=59
TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 30% (15-50), NH 44% (24-54)
2-pt FG: SG 31% (9-29), NH 50% (23-46)
3-pt FG: SG 29% (6-21), NH 13% (1-8)
Free throws: SG 29% (2-7), NH 40% (10-25)
Rebounds: SG 28, NH 29 Turnovers: SG 25, NH 10; 2nd Chance points: SG 7, NH 8; Fast break points: SG 4, NH 27; Points in paint: SG 14, NH 56; Greatest lead: SG 6, NH 24; Fouls: SG 18, NH 11
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. *starter. Siri Konkel 11P, 5R, 1A, 1S; *Lydia Solum 2P, 7R, 2A, 4B; *Sydney Holland 4A; *Ava Olerud 1R; Kendal Van Minsel 2P, 3R, 1S; *Addyson McHugh 6P, 7R, 2A, 1B; *Jordian Leahy 9P, 1S; Emerson Ingvalson out injured; Katelyn Kraus 6P, 3R, 2A, 3S, 2B
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Spring Grove Girls Basketball 2021-’22 (approximate 7:15 tipoff unless noted) *conference game
1 win, 2 losses (1-0 SEC)
W at Schaeffer Academy* 60-27
L vs. Decorah, Iowa 14-69
L vs. New Hampton, Iowa 38-57
Tues. 12/07 at Triton (Dodge Center)
Thur. 12/09 at Houston*
Tues. 12/14 Mabel-Canton*
Fri. 12/17 Southland*
Sat. 12/18 St. Charles 4:15 pm
Tues. 12/21 at Lanesboro*
>>>Rushford-Peterson Tournament
>>>Tues. 12/28 at Rushford-Peterson, 5 pm
>>>Wed. 12/29 vs. Randolph or Dover-Eyota (at Rushford, time TBD)
Fri. 01/07 Schaeffer Academy* 6 pm
Tues. 01/11 at Grand Meadow*
Tues. 01/18 Houston*
Thur. 01/20 at LeRoy-Ostrander (non-conference)
Mon. 01/24 at Waukon, Iowa 7:30 pm
Tues. 01/25 Kingsland*
Thur. 01/27 at Mabel-Canton*
Mon. 01/31 Lewiston-Altura
Fri. 01/04 Lanesboro*
Sat. 02/05 at Plainview-Elgin-Millville 1:30 pm
Tues. 02/08 Fillmore Central
Thur. 02/10 Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons
Fri. 02/11 LeRoy-Ostrander*
Mon. 02/14 at Southland (non-conference)
Fri. 02/18 at Lyle/Pacelli* (at Lyle)
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Spring Grove B-team Girls (0-1)
L vs. Decorah 17-36
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Spring Grove 8th Grade Girls (0-1)
L vs. Lansing Kee 18-46
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Spring Grove 8th Grade Girls (0-1)
L vs. Lansing Kee 22-31
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