The Spring Grove girls rebounded and defended, but unsteady ball-handling sabotaged their pursuit for points in the first two basketball games of 2021, dropping both by 16-point margins. The Lions (0-2, 0-1 SEC) fell to visiting Grand Meadow, 36-20, on Jan. 15 and then 20 hours later, were outscored at Rushford-Peterson, 44-28.
Grand Meadow 36, Spring Grove 20
The Lion girls scored the first eight points, but the Superlarks tallied the next 21. For Spring Grove, too many turnovers (38) resulted in too few shots (34). Addyson McHugh led all scorers while burying 4-of-8 beyond the 3-point arc to account for 12 of the 20 Lion points.
The Superlarks led 16-8 at halftime and in the second half, would lead by as many as 19 points before winning by 16. Most of that winning margin came with fast-breaks; Grand Meadow steals fueled the Larks’ 13-0 advantage in transition.
After only eight practice sessions, the defenses were ahead of the offenses. Neither team handled the ball well or shot well (GM 28%, SG 23%). But with six more rebounds and 16 fewer turnovers, the Superlarks attempted more shots both from the field and the free throw line. For the Larks, Sydney Cotten scored 10 points, and Lexy Foster had 11 rebounds
It was the ninth straight win for Grand Meadow against Spring Grove, but the Lion girls still lead all-time, 36 wins to 30. The Larks won the B-team game, 50-12. Grand Meadow (1-1, 1-0 SEC) ended the weekend with a 58-37 loss at Hayfield.
VARSITY: GM 36, SG 20,
>>SG 8+12=20
>>GM 16+20=36
all FG: SG 7-31, 23%; GM 14-50, 28%
2-pt. FG: SG 3-17, 18%: GM 11-27, 41%
3-pt. FG: SG 4-14, 29%; GM 3-23, 13%
Free throws: SG 2-7, 29%; GM 5-14, 36%
Rebounds: SG 22, GM 28; Turnovers: SG 38, GM 22; Fast break pts: SG 0, GM 13; Points in the paint: SG 8, GM 25; Fouls: SG 14, GM 13
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. * starter. Sydney Holland 1S; Ava Olerud 3R, 2S; *Addyson McHugh 12PO, 2R, 1B; *Lydia Solum 2P, 4R, 1S; Erika Donlan 1R, 1S; *Jordian Leahy 4P, 1R, 3S; *Emerson Ingvalson 2P, 5R, 3A, 2S, 2B; *Katelyn Kraus 5R, 2A, 1S, 1B
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B-TEAM: GM 50, SG 12
>>SG 5+7=12
>>GM 34+16=50
B-TEAM SCORING: Jordis Neeley 6, Ellyce Walsh 2, Katie Klug 2, Taylor Reinhardt 2
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Rushford-Peterson 44, Spring Grove 28,
It was verse two of the same song with the extra stress of facing a full-court defense. The Trojan backcourt defense forced 11 turnovers on the way to a 16-to-5 advantage in fast-break points. The Lions did cut down the turnover total, but so did the opposition. Spring Grove was only out-rebounded by one, 29-28, and earned three times as many free throws (SG 14 for 24, RP 1-for-8) while outscoring the home team by 13 points at the foul line. But again with 16 fewer turnovers, the Trojans attempted more than twice as many shots from the field, where they also outshot Spring Grove, 36% to 28%.
After scoring most of their points from 3-point land the night before, the Lions went 0-for-only 4 trey attempts on Saturday afternoon. Dribble drives produced 12 of the Lions’ 28 points. The Trojans were not effective from afar (3 for 14, 21%) but scored 33 of their 44 points in the lane.
Lion junior guard Jordian Leahy led all scorers with 13 points along with 5 rebounds. McHugh added 8 points and another 5 boards. Freshman forward Katelyn Kraus pulled down 8 rebounds. Kaylee Ruberg paced R-P with 12 points,
Despite only two first-half field goals, Spring Grove stayed in contention with free throws and trailed 22-15 at halftime. But the Lions would get no closer than five points while Rushford-Peterson won the second half, 22-13.
R-P (1-0) snapped a three-game losing streak against Spring Grove, and the Trojans now lead the all-time series, 34 wins to 19. It was a Saturday afternoon sweep with the Trojans also taking the B-team game, 36-14.
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VARSITY: R-P 44, SG 28
SG 15+13=28
R-P 22+22=44
all FG: SG 7-25, 28%, R-P 20-56, 36%
2-pt. FG: SG 7-21, 33%; R-P 17-42, 40%
3-pt. FG: SG 0-4, 0%; R-P 3-14, 21%
Free throws: SG 14-24, 58%; R-P 1-8, 13%
Rebounds: SG 28, R-P 29; Turnovers: SG 28, R-P 12; Fast break pts: SG 5, R-P 16; Points in the paint: SG 20, R-P 33; Fouls: SG 11, R-P 18
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. * starter. Sydney Holland 1R; Ava Olerud 1R; *Addyson McHugh 8P, 5R, 2S; *Lydia Solum 2P, 2R, 1S; Erika Donlan 2R; *Jordian Leahy 13P, 5R, 1A; *Emerson Ingvalson 3P, 4R, 2A; *Katelyn Kraus 2P, 8R, 1S, 1B
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B-TEAM: R-P 36, SG 14
SG 7+7=14
R-P 22+14=36
B-TEAM SCORING: Jordis Neeley 5, Katie Klug 2, Sydney Holland 2, Ashlyn Hammel 2, Ellyce Walsh 2, Kendal Van Minsel 1