(Elk Horn) With their 12-0 start to the season, Exira-EHK has won 51 straight regular season games. They haven’t lost a conference game since January 25th, 2019.
The Spartans will have a couple of key challenges coming up over the next week including a matchup at 11-2 CAM on Friday. Coach Tom Petersen says, “They have a lot better depth. They are playing a lot better basketball. Kiera Nichols has been coming off the bench averaging ten points since Christmas break. That’s one of the things that has stuck out to me as I’ve watched them on film. They have such great balance with a lot of girls that can shoot from the outside. You have to know where Eva Steffensen is at. She’s improved quite a bit since the last time we played them.”
Coach Petersen evaluates his team’s play so far this season. “I think overall we are starting to play a little bit better basketball. We’ve kind of struggled with not playing on the same page consistently. The kids will show glimpses of some pretty good basketball at times. Last year was completely different. We had a leader in Tatum Grubbs who was able to hold everything together even though she couldn’t play. Right now we’ve been lacking that leadership.”
Coach Petersen says CAM, Woodbine, Audubon, and ACGC have all provided them with challenges this season. They’ve got a big non-conference game next Thursday with a Class 2A ranked Panorama team that will be big. “The kids have been tested. They’ve been there, done that, but we are trying to find some consistency. We are trying to do a few things differently. We press a lot more than we did last year. It’s been a work in progress. The game against CAM is going to be extremely challenging. Then next week we have a game against Red Oak on Monday, Coon Rapids-Bayard, and then Panorama on Thursday.”
Macy Emgarten is averaging 18.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Quinn Grubbs is at 15.4 points, 4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 4.3 steals per contest. Mollie Rasmussen and Shay Burmeister average 10.6 points per game and 9.0 points per game, respectively.
Exira-EHK coach Tom Petersen:
