When No. 15 seed Spring Grove was playing against girls about their own age, they prevailed by 10 points. But unfortunately for the visiting Lions, it was the Blooming Prairie seniors and juniors who received the No. 2 seed and played for most of their 58-24 win in the Section 1A Tournament opener for both teams. The Awesome Blossoms had won as many games (15) as Spring Grove had played (15) and led by 44 points before the regulars retired for the final eight minutes.
BP improved to 16-3 with two of the losses having come in overtime and the third by only two points to a Class AA team. The Class A Blossoms were 7-2 versus larger Class AA schools and 8-1 in Class A competition. Spring Grove closed at 3-13.
Blooming Prairie was playing without one injured senior starter, but with Class A All-State Megan Oswald on the low post and Honorable Mention All-State Bobbie Bruns on the perimeter, the Blossoms had plenty of talent available. Oswald, her program’s all-time leader in points, rebounds and steals and also among the top five in all-time assists, scored 18 points inside while grabbing 10 rebounds to go with 4 assists and 4 steals. Bruns, a junior guard and the Blossoms’ career assist leader, put in 16 points and passed out 8 assists. Sophomore center Anna Pauley came off the bench to score 10 points.
Spring Grove shot 35% from the field, better than its weak 26% season average, but the Lions could not attain their 34-point scoring average against a stingy Blossom 2-3 zone defense. That was due to missing most of their free throws and 21 Lion turnovers against that defense, which also limited the Lions to only three offensive rebounds.
Grove averaged 15 free throw attempts per game for the regular season and got 15 opportunities against BP, but the Lions hit only four of them. That 27% is far below their season average of 50%. The Blossoms had more height than previous Lion opponents and controlled the rebound race, 26-17.
BP ballhandling was exceptional with 31 points on the scoreboard before the first turnover. The starters had only four turnovers through 41 possessions. However, the Lion full-court pressure forced seven turnovers from the Blossom reserves during running-clock time. Averaging 55 points per game, BP led 55-11 when the regulars retired, and then the Lions more than doubled their previous points while outscoring the home team reserves 13-3 the rest of the way.
Sophomore forward Addyson McHugh led Lion scoring with 8 points while junior Jordian Leahy and eighth grade Emerson Ingvalson each added 5 points. Freshman Katelyn Kraus secured 6 rebounds. Leahy, the Lions’ leading scorer for the season, was back off the injured list after missing the previous three games. It was the last night in uniform for senior reserve Erika Donlan.
Spring Grove, after seven turnovers and four missed shots, was down 18-0 before McHugh took an assist pass into the post from Lydia Solum to get the Lions on the scoreboard. But there would be only one more basket before halftime. Shooting 52% during the first half, the Blossoms took a 38-5 lead into halftime.
BP, while shooting a strong 48% from the field and 62% from the foul line (8 for 13), was able to score inside and outside and in transition. The Blossoms scored 40 points in the lane and attempted only 12 shots beyond the 3-point arc. But their 50% success (6 for 12) was the best 3-point accuracy of any Lion opponent this season.
Blooming Prairie next claimed a 45-34 quarterfinal win over No. 10 seed Lanesboro, which was coming off an upset of No. 7 Grand Meadow. All top four seeds (Houston, BP, Kingsland, Hayfield) advanced to the semi-finals. Last year, the Awesome Blossoms were the top seed and stormed all the way to the finals before falling to No. 2 seed Fillmore Central.
It was the first-ever meeting between SG and BP, located at the geographically distant extremities of the section. This is fourth year that there has been one large section tournament instead of two sub-section brackets. It was the Lions’ fifth straight season without a playoff victory. Last year, Spring Grove received the No. 14 seed and fell to No. 3 Houston.
>>SG 24, BP 58
>>SG 5+19=24
>>BP 38+20-58
all FG: SG 35% (9-26), BP 48% (22-46)
2-pt FG: SG 41% (7-17), BP 47% (16-34)
3-pt FG: SG 22% (2-9), BP 50% (6-12)
Free throws: SG 27% (4-15), BP 62% (8-13)
Rebounds: SG 17, BP 26; Turnovers: SG 21, BP 11; 2nd Chance points: SG 1 BP 11; Fast break points: SG 5, BP 13; Points in paint: SG 18, BP 40; Greatest lead: SG 0, BP 44; Fouls: SG 13, BP 10
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. * starter. Sydney Holland 3P; Ava Olerud no stats; *Addyson McHugh 8P, 5R, 1A, 1S, 2B; Mckenzie Fisch no stats; *Lydia Solum 23P, 1R, 3A, 2S, 1B; Erika Donlan 1R; *Jordian Leahy 5P, 23R, 1A, 1S; *Emerson Ingvalson 5P, 1R, 3A, 2S; *Katelyn Kraus 1P, 6R, 1B
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>>SEC EAST DIVISION
Houston 13-0 SEC, 15-0 season
Randolph 11-1 SEC, 14-1 season
Lanesboro 8-7 SEC, 10-9 season
Mabel-Canton 4-11 SEC, 4-15 season
Spring Grove 3-11 SEC, 3-13 season
Schaeffer Aca. 0-15 SEC, 1-16 season
>>SEC WEST DIVISION
Kingsland 12-1 SEC, 15-2 season
Grand Meadow 8-4 SEC, 9-8 season
Southland 9-5 SEC, 11-8 season
LeRoy-Ostrander 5-8 SEC, 5-11 season
Lyle/Pacelli 2-12 SEC, 3-17 season
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Spring Grove Girls Basketball 2021. >>3 wins, 13 losses (3-11 SEC)
L vs. Grand Meadow 20-36
L at Rushford-Peterson 28-44
L at Mabel-Canton 31-34
W at Schaeffer Academy 47-39
01/28 Randolph, canceled
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 41-37
L at Randolph 25-65
L vs. Mabel-Canton 30-41
L vs. Lanesboro 45-66
L at Lanesboro 38-53
L at LeRoy-Ostrander 47-65
W vs. Lyle/Pacelli 56-49
L vs Houston 23-63
L at Southland 24-68
L at Houston 26-67
L at Kingsland 27-68
SECTION
L at #2 Blooming Prairie 24-58
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B-team Girls Basketball 2021 >>0 wins, 11 losses
L vs. Grand Meadow 12-50
L at Rushford-Peterson 14-36
L at Randolph 8-43
L vs. Mabel-Canton 17-40
L vs. Lanesboro 12-34
L at Lanesboro 23-37
L vs. Lyle/Pacelli 16-31
L vs. Houston 8-48
L at Southland 23-39
L at Houston 20-47
L at Kingsland 12-47
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8th Grade Girls Basketball 2021 >>7 wins, 3 losses
W at Schaeffer Academy 28-26
L vs Houston 13-34
W vs. Mabel-Canton 25-17
W vs. Randolph 27-26
L vs. Lanesboro 19-34
L at Lanesboro 12-33
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 29-16
W at Mabel-Canton 37-24
W at Houston 23-22
W at Kingsland 25-22
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7th Grade Girls Basketball 2021 >>2 wins, 6 losses
L vs. Houston 10-22
W vs Schaeffer 22-16
L vs. Randolph 17-23
L vs. Lanesboro 12-29
L at Lanesboro 10-33
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 28-18
L at Houston 19-34
L at Kingsland 24-41