Photo by Paul Trende
The 4-seed Spring Grove girls (22-5) survived a cold-shooting 1A quarterfinal duel versus 5-seed Fillmore Central (17-10) but could not stay with top seed Goodhue (23-5) in a subsequent semi-final, all at Rochester. In the 48-44 win over the Falcons, the Lions led by nine points in the second half, but the Falcons closed within two points at 46-44 with a rebound and two free throws by Jersey Ristau with only 26 seconds remaining. Six seconds later, Lion Siri Konkel cashed in two free throws to create a two-possession lead and the final score. It was the second nail-biter between the teams this season with SG having edged FC by one point only four weeks previous. In this rematch, the teams combining for 44 turnovers, 38 fouls and 38 free throws. The Lions matched a season-most 21 fouls, but the Falcons did not take adequate advantage, hitting only 8 of 20 free throws (40%). Grove hit 10 of 18 (56%). The Lions outscored the Falcons by two points both from the foul line and the field. SG shot only 26% and FC 27%. Each team had 16 field goals. FC was 5 of 29 shooting, 8 of 19 at the free throw line, with 15 turnovers in the second half. Konkel led Lion scoring with 11 points with 9 each from Emerson Ingvalson and Izabel Kaufmann (3-4 threes). Kinley Soiney had 5 points, 9 rebounds and 7 steals. For the Falcons, Aubrey Daniels had a team-high 10 points. Kammry Broadwater (7 points) and Kyla Hellickson (6 points) each had 12 rebounds. SG led 28-23 at halftime, but FC caught up at 29-29. The Lions scored the next nine points, but the Falcons remained in contention until the final 20 seconds. FC closed a good season at 17-11. In the semifinals, Spring Grove led 19-17 before state-ranked #1 Goodhue led 30-23 at halftime and won going away, 73-49. The Wildcats shot only 26% before the break before enjoying 44% success in the second half. For SG, Konkel scored 12 points and Soiney 11 points along with 9 rebounds. Kylie Hammel added 8 points, 5 rebounds. Ingvalson had 6 points, 8 boards. Goodhue point guard Elisabeth Gadient had an amazing stat line with 20 points, 13 assists, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. She is a Minnesota State-Mankato commit. Despite having nine shots blocked, the Lions outshot the ‘Cats from the field 39% to 35%. But with a season-high 30 turnovers against a trapping Goodhue defense, Grove did not shoot often enough to keep up. This was the deepest postseason run in 11 years for Spring Grove, which finishes an excellent year at 23-6.
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