It was a “grinder” with both teams struggling to get the ball into the basket. The No. 8 state-ranked Spring Grove boys claimed a 27th consecutive win over next-door neighbor Mabel-Canton, 49-34, on Feb. 20, but there was little similarity to the Lions’ 49-point road rout (85-36) in mid-January. The Grove guys improved to 23-1 (18-0 SEC) while the Cougars left at 10-15 (7-12 … [Read more...]
Hot Shots
Caledonia’s girls ran their win streak to nine with wins over R-P (63-38) and Cannon Falls (69-28). The #14 Warriors (14-0, 22-3) completed a sweep of the TRC. They are 1AA’s 3-seed, will host the 14-seed Bombers (8-18) in the 1AA Round of 16. Kara Goetzinger scored 31 points, but Chatfield fell to St. Charles 64-62. The Gophers (10-5, 17-9) are 1AA’s 7-seed, will host 10-seed … [Read more...]
Girls Basketball: #9 Larks Run Streak to 15, Get Help to Win SEC-West
Grand Meadow’s girls entered the final week of the regular season controlling their own destiny to share the SEC-West title. They had the win two winnable SEC contests (and hope for some help to win the West out-right). A non-conference game was their toughie. At Blooming Prairie, Ryan Queensland’s group built a 45-33 lead late. GM was up 10 (45-35) with 1:28 left and eight … [Read more...]
Boys Basketball: Burros Slip Past Falcons in Wild(er) Game
Boys basketball games between Fillmore Central and Lanesboro are typically asterisked on the schedule. This year’s incarnation saw both the Falcons (6-6, 14-8) and Burros (13-5, 16-7) enter in the same upper mid-level Section 1A “tier.” A game with seeding implications was a wild offensive show, highlighted by a Wilder’s shooting. FC led 24-18 in the first half when the Burros … [Read more...]
Boys Basketball: Bunke’s Three Propels R-P Over Cal in OT
Rushford-Peterson and Caledonia have had a rivalry over the years in boys basketball. The Warriors have won more often as of late, but R-P (5-4, 11-10) has given Caledonia (9-1, 10-10) trouble here and there. The Warriors win over R-P in December, 73-50, was their eighth straight in the series. Hello trouble in meeting number two. Brad King’s group led by as many as 10 (36-26) … [Read more...]
Wrestling: #2 Warriors Top #4 D-E, #3 Chatfield to Make State
It is a gauntlet. Three of the top four ranked teams in Class A in wrestling all resided in section 1A, #2 Caledonia /Houston, #3 Chatfield, and #4 Dover-Eyota. Cal/Hou’s 1A tourney run wasn’t without its tense moments (Chatfield in the finals). The Warriors endured and are heading to state for the first time since 2016. After downing Triton 64-12 in the quarters (See … [Read more...]
Rally falls one point short for Lion girls against Houston, 49-48
The Spring Grove girls came up one point short after trailing by 18 points in the second half. Down by seven with a minute remaining, the Lions scored three times within 45 seconds before visiting Houston escaped with a 49-48 win as the regular closed on Feb. 16. Addyson McHugh had a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in her last appearance on the home court. She was one … [Read more...]
Hot-shooting Spring Grove girls too much for Mabel-Canton
It had been six years since the Spring Grove girls had shot as well as they did during a 60-22 road win at Mabel-Canton on Feb. 15. Their 48% from the field was their best in the last 156 games, dating back to the 2017 season. And it was not that the Lions were shooting lay-ups; they scored two-thirds (40) of their 60 points from the perimeter, including a season-high 10 … [Read more...]
Lion girls rally with defense to overtake Cardinals, 66-52
The Spring Grove girls won 66-52, rallying from a 15-point deficit to win by 14 at LeRoy-Ostrander on Feb. 13. The Cardinals hit 6 of 7 early shots and 6 of 7 free throws to take a 19-4 lead before the Lions changed defenses. Full-court pressure led to a season-high 19 steals for Spring Grove, which contributed to 33 Cardinal turnovers. the most of any Lion opponent this … [Read more...]
One-loss Lion boys breeze past one-win Superlarks, 64-24
The state-ranked No. 8 Spring Grove boys rolled to a 64-24 rematch win over visiting Grand Meadow on Feb. 17, scoring exactly 64 points versus the Superlarks for the second time this season. Including that earlier 64-27 road result, the Lions extended their winning streak against GM to 47 games and lead all-time, 56 wins to 13. Wade Grinde’s guys improved to 22-1 (17-0 … [Read more...]