The No. 4 seeded Spring Grove girls survived a cold-shooting section duel with a 48-44 win over No. 5 seed Fillmore Central in a Section 1A quarterfinal on Feb. 26 at Rochester. The Lions (23-5) twice led by nine points in the second half, but the Falcons (17-11) twice battled back within three points and 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 point guard Siri Konkel cashed in two free throws to create a two-possession lead, which would also be the final score. Two final Falcon shots missed the mark.
It was the second nail-biter between the teams this season with Spring Grove having edged Fillmore Central by one point only four weeks previous. In this rematch, there may have been some big-stage, playoff jitters with the teams combining for 44 turnovers, 38 fouls and 38 free throws. Spring Grove mainstay Emerson Ingvalson missed nearly 13 minutes of the second half in foul trouble. She was one of three Lions to finish with four fouls. Falcon senior Kammry Broadwater fouled out, one of two Falcons charged with four or more fouls.
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 from the foul line and by two points from the field.
The defenses were not successful in keeping opponents off the free throw line, but defense prevailed in the field where SG shot only 26% and FC 27%. Each team had 16 field goals. The Lions had four fewer turnovers (SG 20, FC 24) but also 10 fewer rebounds (SG 32, FC 44)
Konkel led Lion scoring with 11 points with 9 each from Ingvalson and Izabel Kaufmann. Kinley Soiney had 5 points, 9 rebounds and 7 steals. For the Falcons, Aubrey Daniels had a team-high 10 points and Annika Mensink 8 while Broadwater (7 points) and Kyla Hellickson (6 points) each came down with 12 rebounds.
There four lead changes in the first half with both teams leading by as many as six points. Spring Grove took a 28-23 lead into halftime. Fillmore Central caught up at 29-29, but the Lions scored the next nine points to assume the lead for good at the mid-point of the second half. However, the Falcons remained in contention until the final 20 seconds.
It was the second playoff game for both teams with the Lions having dispensed with No. 13 seed Southland 62-40, and the Falcons eliminating No. 12 Kenyon-Wanamingo, 65-50. Spring Grove advanced to face top seed Goodhue.
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SG 48, Fillmore Central 44
SCORE by HALVES
SG 28+20=48
FC 23+21=44
TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 26% (16-61), FC 27% (16-60)
2-pt FG: SG 27% (10-37), FC 29% (12-42)
3-pt FG: SG 25% (6-24), FC 22% (4-18)
Free throws: SG 56% (10-18), FC 40% (8-20)
Rebounds: SG 32, FC 44
Turnovers: SG 20, FC 24
2nd Chance pts: SG 9, FC 14
Fast break pts: SG 4, FC 10
Pts. in paint: SG 20, FC 25
Greatest lead: SG 9, FC 8
Fouls: SG 21, FC 17
SG INDIVIDUALS: * starter, P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number
*Siri Konkel 11P, 1R, 3A, 3S, 1B
*Kendal VanMinsel 1P, 3R, 3B
Brinley Middendorf 6P, 4R, 1S, 1B
Izabel Kaufmann 9P, 4R, 2S
Carlie Halverson 2R, 2A, 1B
*Kylie Hammel 7P, 6R, 4A, 1S
*Emerson Ingvalson 9P, 3R, 1A
*Kinley Soiney 5P, 9R, 2A, 7S
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