The Spring Grove girls never trailed during their 50-21 clubbing of Kee High on Dec. 10 at the annual Iowa-Minnesota Border Battle at Luther College. Lion ball-handling was exemplary with 15 assists and only 9 turnovers during 57 possessions. Meanwhile, the KeeHawks lost possession 29 times, 13 of which were forced by Spring Grove’s full-court pressure.
Photo by Lee Epps
The Lions (2-2) exploded with a 19-2 start and much later scored the final 14 points of the game. They were off and running early, scoring on six of their first nine possessions. The KeeHawks (0-4) outscored Spring Grove during the middle two quarters, 14-10, before the Lions won the fourth period, 21-5. (Iowa plays quarters.)
For the second straight game, freshman point guard Siri Konkel orchestrated the Lion attack with a career-best 8 assists and also sparked the defense with a career-high 7 steals. Emerson Ingvalson hit 6 of 10 shots on the way to 14 points while Kylie Hammel added 13 points. Kendal VanMinsel netted 8 points and pulled down 5 rebounds. For Kee, speedy freshman guard Addison Winters put in 14 points and rebounded 6 times.
Neither free throws nor 3-point field goals were determinate. Spring Grove attempted only two free throws (0 for 2) – the fewest in records going back 19 years. The Hawks attempted just six foul shots (1 for 6) and went 0 for 5 beyond the 3-point arc. After two games without a 3-point basket, the Lions opened the scoring with a trey from Addison McHugh among a trio of 3-balls in the first quarter and finished with four triples. But only 4 for 19 (21%) from afar is not an enviable percentage. Spring Grove, instead, won by shooting well from the perimeter with mid-range 2-pointers.
It was the Lions’ first win against Kee, but it was only their third meeting. Spring Grove did defeat Lansing in 1982 (before the consolidation with New Albin).
SG 50, Kee 21
SCORE by QUARTERS
SG 19 +4+6+21=50
Kee 2+8+6+5=21
TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 40% (23-58), Kee 29% (10-35)
2-pt FG: SG 49% (19-39), Kee 33% (10-30)
3-pt FG: SG 21% (4-19), Kee 0% (0-5)
Free throws: SG 0% (0-2, Kee 17% (1-6)
Rebounds: SG 21, Kee 27
Turnovers: SG 9, Kee 29
2nd Chance pts: SG 7, Kee 0
Fast break pts: SG 6, Kee 8
Pts. in paint: SG 26, Kee 16
Greatest lead: SG 29, Kee 0
Fouls: SG 14, Kee 6
Fouled out: no one
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. * starter
*Siri Konkel 4P, 1R, 8A, 7S
*Lydia Solum 4P
Brinley Middendorf no stats
*Kendal VanMinsel 8P, 5R, 1B
Katie Klug 1R
*Addyson McHugh 3P, 5R, 3A, 2S
Izabel Kaufmann 1R, 1A
Carlie Halverson 4P, 2R, 1SA
*Kylie Hammel 13P, 3R,. 2A, 2S, 2B
Layla Kittleson 1A
Emerson Ingvalson 14P, 3R, 1S, 1B
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Spring Grove Girls Varsity Basketball
2-2, (1-2 SEC) varsity approximately 7:15 p.m. unless noted
Home games in bold; * denotes SEC game
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L vs. Lanesboro* 35-62
L at Kingsland*51-70
W vs. Schaeffer Academy*60-45
W vs. Kee High 50-21
Tues., 12-13 Grand Meadow*
Fri. 12-16 at LeRoy-Ostrander*
Mon., 2-19 Waukon
Tues., 12-27 Annandale at R-P Tourney
Wed., 12-28 West Lutheran at R-P Tourney
Tues., 01-03 at Lyle/Pacelli* (at Austin)
Fri. 01-06 Southland*
Tues. 01-10 at Grand Meadow*
Thur., 01-12 Mabel-Canton*
Tues., 01-17 at Houston*
Thur., 01-19 at Lanesboro*
Fri., 01-20 Kingsland*
Tues., 01-24 at St. Charles
Thur., 01-26 at Schaeffer Academy*
Fri., 01-27 at Fillmore Central
Mon., 01-30 LeRoy-Ostrander*
Thur., 02-02 at Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons
Tues. 02-07 Lyle/Pacelli*
Thur., 02-09 at Southland*
Sat. 02-11 Rushford-Peterson 4 p.m.
Tues., 02-14 at Mabel-Canton*
Fri., 02-17 Houston*
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Spring Grove Girls B-team
2-1
L vs. Lanesboro 26-29
W at Kingsland 35-22
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 50-23
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Spring Grove Girls 7th Grade
1-2
L vs. Lanesboro 2-22
L at Kingsland 14-17
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 36-14