SHS girls suffer first loss

The Superior High School girls basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Friday, falling to the Eden Prairie (Minn.) Eagles 66-48 in Superior.

The game gave the Spartan girls (11-1) a chance to see how they measure up to an elite team. Eden Prairie (11-2) was ranked No. 8 among Class 4A Minnesota schools heading into the game.

“I thought this was a perfect opportunity kind of halfway through the season to play one of the best teams in the Midwest,” said Superior coach Phil Roe. “They had two girls go to the Gophers (University of Minnesota) last year, and their post player is the third-rated prospect for the sophomore class in Minnesota.

“I thought it was a good opportunity because we know what we have to work on in practice now to get to that level against that type of team.”

Superior couldn’t keep up with the Eagles in the opening quarter and spent the rest of the game trying to catch up.

Eden Prairie sophomore Samantha Trammel, a 6-foot-1 center, took a lob deep under the basket to score the first points of the game. Annie Thul knocked down a pull-up jumper 30 seconds later, and Trammel then hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Eagles a 5-0 lead at 6:26.

Sophomore Alyssa Correll kept the Spartans afloat by scoring the first seven points of the game for Superior. Her first basket came at 6:14 when she put up a 3-poniter from the left wing. Thul answered with a 3-pointer on the other end, and a layup in transition from Correll made it 8-5.

“She’s fearless,” Roe said. “She plays the same way against any team, in any circumstance, and she’s gotten a lot better. It’s fun to see her confidence growing each week.”

Thul remained hot at the arc for Eden Prairie, hitting another pair of 3-pointers to finish with 11 points in the first quarter. Emma Boehm also hit a 3-pointer and added nine points as the Eagles took a 23-13 lead after eight minutes of play.

In the second quarter, Eden Prairie cooled down from the perimeter but maintained its lead. The Eagles were up by 14 points with 3:41 left in the second quarter before Superior began to cut into the lead.

The momentum began to shift in Superior’s favor after Natalie Kintop’s transition layup at 3:05. Kintop then assisted on Alison Wainionpaa’s basket to cut the lead to 33-24, and another basket from Wainionpaa and a pair of free throws from Jessica Lindstrom left the Spartans trailing 36-28 at halftime.

In the third quarter Lindstrom scored 11 of Superior’s 15 points after being held without a field goal in the first half. That put Superior within reach, 48-43, but Eden Prairie dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Spartans 18-5.

“I think that if we executed a little better in the first quarter and the fourth quarter it should have been a closer game, but it wasn’t a lack of my girls’ effort,” Roe said. “I thought we were well prepared for the game … we knew what was coming at us, so it wasn’t a lack of effort or preparation, it was just some execution.

“We haven’t played a program of that caliber all year, and that’s the bottom line,” Roe continued. “They’re a very good team, and hats off to them.”

Superior scored all of its points in the fourth quarter at the free-throw line, going 5-for-10.

The Spartans finished the game shooting 19-of-28 from the line. Eden Prairie was 12-of-20.

Trammel led Eden Prairie with 16 points and played a key role in the third quarter. She scored the first eight points of the second half for the Eagles, twice taking the ball on lobs and once putting back an offensive rebound.

Thul and Boehm both finished with 13 points for Eden Prairie.

Lindstrom led Superior with 16 point, followed by Hailey Kontny with 12 and Correll with 11. Correll was the only Spartan to hit a 3-pointer during the game and spent much of the third quarter on the bench after picking up her fourth foul.

Eden Prairie 23 13 12 18 — 66

Superior 13 15 15 5 — 48

Eden Prairie — Samantha Trammel 16, Annie Thul 13, Emma Boehm 13, Jayla Mayes-Jackson 8, Andrea Jirele 5, Martha Kuderer 4, Cayman Dennis 3, Cassy Saxton 2, Esabelle Levine 2.

3-point goals — Thul 3, Boehm, Jirele, Kuderer.

Superior — Jessica Lindstrom 16, Alyssa Correll 11, Hailey Kontny 12, Alison Wainionpaa 6, Natalie Kintop 2, Abby Clemons 1.

3-point goals — Correll.

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