Trailing by one late in the third quarter, Spirit Lake’s Alyssa Christopher drained a three-pointer that sparked a 9-0 run and gave the Indians control of a 36-32 victory over Emmetsburg Friday night in Lakes Conference girls’ basketball. The Indians struggled again from outside, hitting just 1-of-16 attempts, and were paced by KJ Veldman’s game-high 21 points. The E-Hawks received an eleven-point effort from senior Paige Naig and fall to 4-8 in league games. They play at West Bend-Mallard on Monday. Spirit Lake remains in third in the league standings at 8-4 and travels to Spencer on Tuesday for a matchup on KUOO.
Click here for the postgame interview with coach Rick Reinking.
A ten-point differential in third-quarter scoring deciding the outcome between Spencer and Western Christian, giving the seventh-ranked Wolfpack a 54-44 home win. The Tigers’ Tiffany Martindale and Western Christian’s Brooke Wolterstorff matched one another with 15 points to lead their respective teams. Spencer, at 6-7 in the Lakes, will host Spirit Lake on Tuesday.
Estherville-Lincoln Central took another step towards a second-straight conference title by doubling-up LeMars, 50-25, on Friday. The second-ranked Midgets, at 13-0, host Western Christian on Tuesday with the championship on the line. Also, Cherokee topped Storm Lake, 65-37.
Cornbelt Conference rivals Harris-Lake Park and Ruthven-Ayrshire/Graettinger-Terril played to a three-point finish Friday, with the Wolves winning 37-34 in Terril. HLP led by 14 at the half before the Raiders rallied to keep it close, taking the second half 23-12. Noreen Morrow controlled the paint with 21 points for the Wolves, and fellow sophomore Grace Skattebo paced the Raiders with a dozen points. RA/GT is 1-10 in league games and will try to end a 14-game losing streak at Clay Central-Everly on Tuesday. HLP snaps a seven-game skid and improves to 6-5, with a home game against Ventura on Tuesday to wrap up the regular season.
Elsewhere, North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted got by West Bend-Mallard 48-36, and Clay Central-Everly stepped out of conference to secure a 44-31 victory over Trinity Christian.
Okoboji went in search of their first winning streak of the season against Boyden-Hull on Friday, but settled for a 48-36 setback in Siouxland Conference girls’ hoops. The Pioneers own a 5-12 league mark and conclude the regular season on Tuesday when MOC-Floyd Valley visits Milford. Coverage can be found on Q102.
The rest of the Siouxland slate saw Sibley-Ocheyedan fall at home to Central Lyon, 52-47. George-Little Rock blew out West Lyon, 67-30. Sioux Center was nine better than Sheldon, 46-37. And MOC-Floyd Valley, who already locked up another league title, stayed unblemished this winter with a 70-32 triumph over Rock Valley.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn reached 5-6 in the War Eagle Conference with a 48-39 road win over Spalding Catholic. The Hawks host Laurens-Marathon in a make-up game Monday on Q102.
North of the border, Jackson County Central registered a 68-55 home win over rival Martin County West. And Worthington ran away from Pipestone, winning 60-36.
