Season ends for SHS girls

The season came to an end for the Superior High School girls basketball team with a 45-35 loss at River Falls Tuesday night in a WIAA Division 1 regional game.

The Spartans started slow, turning the ball over on five of their first seven possessions. The early sloppiness was costly for Superior as the Wildcats took an 8-2 lead.

“After a timeout, we settled down a bit and did a good job of running our offense which enabled them to get some good looks inside and on the perimeter,” SHS coach Dan Schulz said. “We battled back to cut the halftime deficit to 23-20.”

The third quarter went back-and-forth until River Falls hit a jumper in the corner to end the third quarter with a 29-27 lead.

River Falls then went on to outscore Superior 16-8 in the fourth quarter.

“I’m pleased with the effort the girls gave,” Schulz said. “We battled for loose balls, rebounded aggressively and took the ball strong to the basket. Unfortunately we couldn’t come up with the key basket to grab the lead and ultimately the turnovers were too much for us to overcome.”

Shannon Lehikoinen had nine points and Laura Amys eight for the Spartans, who end their season with a 13-8 record.

“These kids had a great season,” Schulz said. “We had some quality non-conference wins and our second consecutive LSC championship. We didn’t accomplish all our goals but it certainly wasn’t because of lack of effort on their part. This is the hardest working group of athletes I’ve been around in my years of coaching.”

Tessa Well and Amy Kujak led River Falls with 11 points apiece.

Superior 6 11 10 8 — 35

River Falls 11 9 9 16 — 45

Superior — Laura Amys 8, Danielle Berger 3, Britnee Blake 4, Christa Diedrich 2, Kara Hoff 2, Bettye Nelson 3, Taylor Kosey 4, Shannon Lehikoinen 9. Totals 13 7-9 35.

3-point goals — Berger, Kosey.

River Falls — Tessa Well 11, Brittany Burns 2, Amy Dusek 2, Sara Vitala 4, Bailey Franklin 5, Lindsay Freeburn 2, Tessa Feyereisen 5, Amy Kujak 11, Emily Purfeerst 3. Totals 18 7-13 45.

3-point goals — Feyereisen.

Tags: superior, girls, basketball, game, ri er, falls, spartans