On Saturday at the Mitchell Corn Palace, the Spartans girls defeated Gregory by a score of 66-50 to advance to the SoDak 16.
The Spartans got off to a hot start scoring 24 points in the first quarter and led by eight points going into the second quarter. In the second quarter, both teams struggled to score and the Spartans led 30-22 at halftime.
For most of the third quarter, the teams went back and forth, but Gregory made a run at the end of the quarter and the Spartans held only a 41-39 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Spartans, however, began the fourth quarter on a run and immediately grew the lead. By the three-minute mark in the fourth quarter, the lead increased to 15 and the Spartans were able to come away with the 66-50 victory.
It was truly a team effort for the Spartans. Ashlyn Weber and Raylee Fagerhaug came off the bench and provided much needed defense and rebounding, with Weber even draining a three-pointer in the first quarter. Avery Orth had a big game with her teammates feeding her inside and ended up with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Alyssa Grohs nailed a huge three-point shot in the 4th quarter and finished the game with nine rebounds and eight assists. Carissa Scheel battled foul trouble all game but still played stellar defense to go along with scoring 13 points. Kirstie Munsen had an all around good game with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists. Kate Havlik was 3-4 from three-point land and finished with 15 points.
With the win the Spartans advance to the SoDak 16 where they will play for a chance to go to the State B tournament.
The No. 11 Wessington Springs (16-6) will play No. 6 Howard (18-4) at 7:30 p.m. in the Huron Arena on Thursday, March 2.