(Winterset) Exira/EHK held off Lenox’s second-half rally to advance to the Class 1A Girl’s State Basketball Tournament in the Regional Final at Winterset on Wednesday night.
Quinn Grubbs scored 31 –points, and Macy Emgarten added 20 –points to lead the Spartans. T.J. Stoaks scored 22-points, McKinna Hogan, 15, and Cassidy Nelson added 10-points to lead Lenox.
The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead. T.J. Stoaks and McKinna Hogan provided the firepower each scoring three-point shots. Spartan Head Coach Tom Petersen called a timeout, and his squad responded, outscoring the Tigers 15-3 to finish out the first quarter leading 15-11, led by Quinn Grubbs’ three-long range shots.
Exira/EHK kept the moment going in the second quarter with 26-points while holding Lenox to 10. Quinn Grubbs scored 19-first half points, and Macy Emgarten added thirteen, and the Spartans led 41-21 at the break.
“We came out a little lethargic and fell behind seven points early, we called a 30-second timeout, and the girls responded,” said Exira/EHK Head Coach Tom Petersen. “The shots started to fall, but it really started on the defensive side. We went to a 1-3-1 defense, and I felt our players started to move and forced Lenox to throw their passes over the top, which provided us some opportunities to get out and run.”
Lenox started the second half with a big run. Down by 20-points, the Tigers bolted out to a 10-0 run, and outscored the Spartans 24-7, and trailed 48-45 at the end of the third quarter. T.J. Stoaks’ field goal in the final stanza tied the game at 54-54. The Spartans edged out ahead and forced the Tigers to foul, and Grubbs drained seven of ten free throws, and Macy Emgarten went two-for-two at the line down the stretch to seal the 66-56 win and a trip to the Class 1A State Tournament.
“In 23-years I’ve been blessed with a lot of great players, great teams, but this team is special,” said Coach Petersen. “For what they’ve had to endure this year with everything, with Tatum Grubbs going down with an injury, Mollie Burmeister having to miss some time, and you talk about a special group of eight girls, I’m really proud of what they’ve done.”
The (23-0) Spartans drew the #4 seed in the State Tourney, and a matchup with #5 seed, and (21-2) MMCRU in the first round at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 3.
