(Mapleton) 4th ranked St. Mary’s will make their girls state basketball debut on Wednesday thanks to a 51-43 regional final win over Exira-EHK on Thursday night. The Hawks trailed by three at halftime, but quickly turned the game around in the 2nd half.
Shay Burmeister had a big night for the Spartans. Her layup with 2:30 left in the 2nd quarter gave Exira-EHK their first lead. Another Burmeister driving bucket pushed the advantage to 20-17 at half. Burmeister would finish with 19 points, but the Spartans didn’t have enough firepower to hang with the Hawks after halftime. They would outscore Exira-EHK 22-8 in the 3rd quarter to take complete control of the game. A 17-0 run flipped a 3-point deficit into a 14-point advantage. Whitney Jensen, who came in averaging a team best 14.8 points per game, got on track and Mya Bunkers made big offensive contributions as well. Jensen was held to two points in the 1st half, but scored 13 points in the 3rd quarter on her way to a 15 point night. Carmindee Ricke contributed 12 points on the evening and Bunkers scored 11.
Hawks coach Scott Willman on the difference for his team after halftime, “Our girls talked. When we are talking we can play some really great help side. That was the key honestly. These girls really love each other and it showed.” Remsen St. Mary’s went ice cold in the 2nd quarter and got outscored 10-3. It allowed Exira-EHK to crawl back into the game. The Spartans had trailed by six on a couple of occasions early in the game and found themselves down 14-10 after one quarter. Remsen St. Mary’s erased the 20-17 halftime deficit in the blink of an eye and quickly went up by double figures. Exira-EHK was rarely within ten the rest of the way. A couple of three-pointers in for the Spartans in the final minute snugged up the final margin.
Quinn Grubbs was the center of attention for the Remsen St. Mary’s defense. After seeing a series of double teams in the first half, she finally took advantage of some single coverage after the break and scored all 9 of her points in the 2nd half. Grubbs and Burmeister were a part of two state tournament teams in their four years. They contributed to 87 wins in their career. Grubbs tallied 1,448 points and over 320 steals. Burmeister managed 832 points and more than 265 steals.
Exira-EHK’s season ends with 19-5 record. 23-1 Remsen St. Mary’s takes a 15 game win streak into their first ever state tournament appearance.
