The Spirit Lake Indians sprinted out to a 13-0 lead before Sibley-Ocheyedan dented the scoreboard Monday night in what turned into a 68-38 rout of the visiting Generals in non-conference girls basketball. The Indians hit five three-pointers, including two from the game’s leading scorer, KJ Veldman. The junior dropped in 22 points, while also connecting on 8-of-9 free throw attempts. Alissa Christoffer registered 16 points, hitting numerous fast-break layups. The Generals were paced by Kayla Ackerman’s ten points, as Sibley-Ocheyedan falls to 4-8 overall. They return to Siouxland play on Friday against George-Little Rock. Spirit Lake now boasts an 8-3 record overall and stays out-of-conference with Worthington coming to town on Tuesday.
Click here for the postgame interviews with Alissa Christoffer and coach Rick Reinking.
A back-and-forth first half of basketball ended with Spirit Lake and Sibley-Ocheyedan tied at 24, however, the second half would belong to the Indians, winning the third quarter by five and the game by 14 in a 51-37 non-conference matchup Monday in boys hoops. The Indians converted 19-of-24 free throws in the game to secure the win. Sawyer Harms finished with a team-high 16 points, and Alex Dau pitched in with ten points. Caleb Hartwig was hot early, scoring thirteen of his game-high 20 points in the first quarter for Sibley-Ocheyedan. The Generals have lost nine straight after winning their season opener over George-Little Rock. They host the Mustangs on Friday. Spirit Lake improves to 7-4 on the season and will host rival Spencer on Friday, a doubleheader that will air on KUOO.
Click here for the postgame interview with coach Nate Loenser.
Estherville-Lincoln Central went north to take on border rival Jackson County Central in a girls-boys doubleheader that ended in a split. The Midgets took the girls clash by a 51-45 margin. Allie Sievert paced the attack with 18 points. ELC improves to 12-1 on the year, while the Huskies fall to 8-6. The boys contest went the way of JCC with a 64-44 final. Adam Reiter led the Midgets with eleven points. Jackson County Central now has three wins to nine losses. Estherville-Lincoln Central sits at 4-8.
Playing for the third time in four days, the Spencer girls notched a 45-40 victory over Algona in non-conference hoops on Monday. The Tigers top scorer was Ashley Williamson with eleven points, while the Bulldogs received ten from Tangy Wiseman. With no rest for the weary, Spencer takes a 6-5 record to Sheldon on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Tiger boys lost a tight battle out-of-conference to Rock Valley, 62-59. Spencer is an even 5-5.
In other doubleheader basketball, Boyden-Hull swept two games with Remsen-Union. The Comets narrowly won the girls game, 53-50, while the fourth-ranked boys team took a lopsided 68-33 victory. Fulda, MN proved too much for George-Little Rock, sweeping the twinbill by scores of 75-63 in the boys game and 85-46 for the girls. Cherokee and OA-BCIG split their two contests. The Braves squeezed out a 53-51 boys victory, and the top-ranked Falcons pounded out an 84-38 decision. Storm Lake and Ridge View battled to a doubleheader tie as the Tornadoes reached an 80-47 victory in boys play and fell 34-11 on the girls side. The lone in-conference matchup was out of the Siouxland, where Sioux Center and Sheldon also split a pair of games. The Orabs escaped the boys matchup with a one-point win, 44-43, and the Warriors had little trouble earning a 62-36 W between the girls squads.
North of the border, the Martin County West girls fell 61-37 to Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, and Luvern topped Southwest Star Concept in girls hoops, 69-42.
