The lead changed hands several times in the final minutes of Tuesday night’s Lakes Conference girls’ basketball game between Spirit Lake and Cherokee, and with eight second remaining, senior Whitney Berkland hit a bunny to give the Indians a 58-57 win in dramatic fashion. KJ Veldman went off for 32 points, including four 3-pointers. In the process, the junior passed former Indians great Kaisha Brown for second on the all-time scoring list in program history with 1,091 points. Cherokee had three players in double figures, led by Jackie Wilson’s 16 points. The Braves fall to 1-8 in the league and 4-12 overall. Thirteenth-ranked Spirit Lake, which has won seven straight games, boasts a 7-2 conference mark and 13-3 record overall. They host Western Christian on Friday, with KUOO providing the coverage.
Click here for the postgame interview with Whitney Berkland and coach Rick Reinking.
A close game throughout between Emmetsburg and Spencer finished with the Tigers winning on their home floor, 36-31, and sweeping the season series. Alexa Allen dropped in a team-high thirteen points as Spencer improves to 9-7 overall and an even 5-5 in conference. The Tigers host non-conference foe Newell-Fonda on Thursday. The E-Hawks finished with just three players in the scoring column, led by Faith Schmidt’s thirteen points. Emmetsburg will put their 3-6 conference mark and 8-7 overall record on the line Friday against Storm Lake on Y100.
The rest of the Lakes Conference saw Estherville-Lincoln Central stay undefeated in league play, as the second-ranked Midgets blew out winless Storm Lake, 68-21. ELC hosts Cherokee on Friday. Western Christian kept pace with a 43-37 decision over LeMars.
Despite trailing by a dozen points after the first quarter, the Okoboji girls’ basketball team rallied in the second quarter against Sheldon to pull within one at the break of a Siouxland Conference game. However, the Pioneers could never quite get over the hump, falling in Milford by a point, 38-37. Mikkinzie Peschong registered a team-high eleven points, while Skylar Hansen added ten points. Sheldon’s Crystal Rodger and Abbie Provost both scored twelve points in the win, pushing the Orabs to 4-10 in the conference and 5-11 overall. Okoboji falls back to 4-9 in the league and 5-10 this season. Next up, Central Lyon comes to town on Friday for a game on Q102.
Click here for the postgame interview with coach Abby Goodlaxson.
Also in the Siouxland, third-ranked MOC-Floyd Valley stayed perfect with a resounding 85-29 win at Sibley-Ocheyedan. Boyden-Hull topped Sioux Center by a basket, 55-53. George-Little Rock outpaced Rock Valley, 52-36. And Central Lyon owns county bragging rights, sweeping the season series over rival West Lyon with a 74-40 victory.
Over in the Cornbelt Conference, Ventura took down Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire in Ruthven by a 57-23 final. The teams combined to shoot 63 free throws. North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted tallied a Cornbelt win over Clay Central Everly, 56-33. South O’Brien fell in the War Eagle to West Sioux, 67-42. Also, Sioux Central pounded on Alta/Aurelia, 54-27.
North of the border, Jackson County Central dropped a nine-point game at Marshall, 56-47. Martin County West won by a bucket, 54-52, over Alden-Conger. Southwest Star Concept couldn’t keep up with Westbrook-Walnut Grove in a 60-42 setback.
