Spartan girls knock off undefeated DCE

Hailey Kontny’s 19 points helped the Superior High School girls basketball team win a battle of undefeated teams with a 59-56 win over D.C. Everest Friday during day-two action of the Rice Lake Holiday Tournament.

“Hailey worked so hard on both ends of the court and sacrificed everything she had to get the team to win that she threw up at the end of the game,” SHS coach Phil Roe said. “Hailey led the team not only with her shooting, but passing, dribbling and defense. Her performance, and her teammates performance, were inspiring.”

Superior (8-0) trailed by 13 points early on and then 38-31 at halftime. Things got worse for the

Spartans when Rachel Fregin fouled out with three minutes left in the third quarter and Jessica Lindstrom fouled out with about six minute left in the game.

Despite losing two starters, the Spartans outscored the Evergreens 10-3 and 18-15 in the third and fourth quarters.

“I was really impressed by my team's resiliency,” SHS coach Phil Roe said. “My girls battled against the odds, overcame some huge obstacles and pulled off one of the most impressive and gritty wins I have ever seen. I couldn't be happier right now, especially regarding my team's mental toughness.”

One of the biggest factors of the game was Superior’s man-to-man defense in the second half as the Spartans held the Evergreens to just three points in the third quarter.

“I told the girls at halftime that we would have to dig deep and work much harder on defense if we were going to win the ball game,” Roe said. “All five girls on the court worked, scrapped and held one of the best offenses in the Wisconsin Valley Conference to just one field goal in the third quarter.

“I was very impressed how my bench and other girls stepped up when Jessica fouled out of the game. Shannon Johnstad really stepped up and played some great ‘D’ and hit a big one-and-one free throw.”

Abby Clemons picked a great night to have her best game of the season with nine points and more importantly she shut down a post player who was six inches taller.

“Abby is a leader of this team on and off the court,” Roe said. “It was a joy to see all of her hard work and dedication all come together against one of the best teams in the state.”

The Spartans also got 13 points from Lindstrom and Alyssa Correll tallied 12 points off three 3-pointers, all in the fourth quarter.

“Allyssa plays like she has ice water in her veins,” Roe said. “She is so cool and calm during pressure

situations and she really rose to the occasion at clutch times.

“Jessica really played a great game inside and out and dominated on the boards. She also didn't hang her head at all when she fouled out she cheered her teammates on proudly from the bench firing them up and leading in every way she could. Rachel also played some really tough defense for our team and Alison Wainionpaa and Natalie Kintop played very well on the defensive end of the court.

“It was a total team effort and victory. My girls learned a lot from this win, including we can overcome a double digit deficit if we dig deep and work

together defensively, our bench is ready to step up at any time against anyone, and that if you work hard and maintain a positive attitude good things happen.”

DEC (7-1) got 16 points from Mackenzie Mathies and 13 from Lauren Anklam.

Rice Lake Holiday Tournament

Championship

Superior 17-14-10-18—59

D.C. Everest 19-19-3-15—56

Superior — Abby Clemons 9, Alison Wainionpaa 2, Rachel Fregin 3, Jessica Lindstrom 13, Alyssa Correll 12, Shannon Johnstad 1, Hailey Kontny 19. Totals 19 16-27 59.

3-point goals — Correll 3, Lindstrom, Fregin.

D.C.E — Hannah Tipple 4, Haley Kroll 9, Mali Theiss 4, Lauren Anklam 13, Mackenzie Mathies 16, Makayla Pagel 7, Taylor Hodell 3. Totals 22 6-15 56.

3-point goals — Mathies 4, Anklam, Kroll.

Spartan girls defeat Wausau West

The Spartans opened the tournament Thursday evening with a 65-57 victory over Wausau West.

“I was proud of our team’s composure,” said Phil Roe, head coach of the Spartans. “Wausau West is a good Wisconsin Valley team who loves to trap out of their 1-3-1, and we really broke it apart in the second half.”

Superior was led by its triple threat of Alyssa Correll, Hailey Kontny and Jessica Lindstrom. All three girls score 17 points apiece, and Alison Wainionpaa sparked Superior in the second half with nine points.

“The girls battled all night,” Roe said. “Alyssa Correll really shined in the second half hitting some big shots at crucial times; it seemed that every time West tried to crawl back Alyssa came up with a big shot.

“Jessica had some monster blocks and a ton of rebounds; and Hailey really stepped it up in the second half and had assist after assist, slicing through the four different looks Wausau West threw at her — they couldn’t stop her.”

Roe said Wainionpaa also had a big second half for the Spartans offensively.

“She really adds a lot to our team on both ends of the court, and it is great to see her playing with so much confidence lately,” Roe said. “She brings a lot of energy and spark.”

Superior plays DC Everest at 5 p.m. today at the Rice Lake holiday tournament.

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