The Spring Grove boys shot a season-high 57%, including a season-best 55% (12 for 22) beyond the 3-point arc while coasting to a 38th consecutive win over visiting LeRoy-Ostrander, 74-34. Both Ben Udstuen and Jaxon Strinmoen had 16 points and 5 rebounds with Strinmoen adding 5 steals. Zach Brumm came off the sideline for a career-high 6 assists. Camden Hungerholt led the … [Read more...]
Lion Girls Fend Off Falcons late, 47-46
Kendal VanMinsel intercepted a Fillmore Central pass with just under three seconds to play, denying the Falcons a possible game-winning shot and assuring Spring Grove a 47-46 non-conference home win. Fillmore Central had scored on three straight possessions to cut a seven-point deficit down to one point with 1:10 remaining. Both teams missed two shots from the field and Spring … [Read more...]
Spring Grove Girls Fast-Break Past Schaeffer
The Spring Grove girls thrived in transition while completing an SEC sweep over visiting Schaeffer Academy, 55-33. Siri Konkel scored 14 points and Emerson Ingvalson 12 while Kendal VanMinsel secured 12 rebounds and Kylie Hammel 10. Grove improved to 16-2 and remained undefeated in conference action at 11-0, including an early-season, far more closely-contested road win over … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – The First Two Weeks in Minnesota: Venison, Revelry and the Passing of the Fruit
Third of a series Eating venison was a new and enjoyable experience for 11-year-old lad T. R. Stewart, whose pioneer family was one of the first to settle in southeast Minnesota, coming west from Massachusetts in 1853, five years before Minnesota statehood. The last leg of the journey was by steamboat from Galena, Illinois up the Mississippi River to Brownsville. Their … [Read more...]
Lion boys Defeat Falcons, 51-42
The state-ranked No. 3 Spring Grove boys had their second-fewest points of the season but limited Fillmore Central to season-low scoring in a 51-42 non-conference win at Preston. The Lions scored 10 unanswered points before halftime and then opened the second half with a 10-to-2 run. Spring Grove (14-1) has now won 13 of the last 14 contests against the Falcons … [Read more...]
Spring Grove Boys Handle the Ball and Schaffer
The Spring boys played with only two turnovers, a season-best and likely a program record while subduing visiting Schaeffer academy, 67-44. Jaxon Strinmoen scored a career-record 29 points along with 9 rebounds, 7 steals and 2 assists. Elijah Solum and Ben Udstuen each added 12 points and 5 rebounds. Neither had a turnover with Solum passing out 5 assists and Udstuen 2. Ethan … [Read more...]
Second-Half Surge Lifts Lion Boys past Kingsland, 50-39
The Spring Grove boys scored the first 15 points of the second half to erase a seven-point halftime deficit and defeat visiting Kingsland, 52-39. Neither team shot as well as in their first meeting eight days previous (SG won 60-40). The Lions improved to 12-1, 10-1 SEC) while extending their winning streak to 13 in the series with Kingsland. Wade Grinde’s guys had already won … [Read more...]
Spring Grove boys brand Burros again
Spring Grove, despite its coldest shooting night of the season, completed a conference sweep at Lanesboro, 54-30. Jaxon Strinmoen had 13-point, 13-rebound double-double plus a team-high 5 steals. Elijah Solum led all scorers with 15 points while Isaac Nerstad netted 9 points. The Lions dominated the backboards, 43-26, with Ben Udstuen grabbing rebound honors by grabbing 7 … [Read more...]
Lion Boys Hand Kingsland First Loss in State-Ranked Showdown
Drama was short-lived in a state-ranked conference showdown at Spring Valley when Class A No. 14 Spring Grove dealt a first loss to No. 17 Kingsland, 60-40. Seven minutes elapsed before the first Kingsland basket, by which time the Lions led, 14-1. The Knights never recovered after nine turnovers during their first 15 possessions. Grove led by 14 points at halftime (33-17) and … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past The Mystery of Bat Cave, the Face of Chief Waukon Decorah and a Warm Minnesota Welcome
Part two of a series Samuel McPhail, the founder of Caledonia, and a couple of other early 1850s pioneers, while heading to Crooked Creek for water, noticed a large, yellow dog perched near a clump of trees on a hillside of a rocky ridge. They recognized the canine as belonging to a man who had been searching the area for land a few days previous. His owner was likely … [Read more...]