The Superior High School girls basketball team opened the season with a pair of victories over the weekend in the Hudson Thanksgiving Tournament.
After defeating the host Raiders 51-40 Friday night, the Spartans downed the Menomonie Indians 27-24 on Saturday.
Laura Amys led the Spartans with 11 points and nine rebounds against Menomonie. Shannon Lehikoinen added six points, Taylor Kosey had four, Britnee Blake three, Kara Hoff two and MacKenzie Newman one point along with eight rebounds.
Superior led 7-2 after on quarter, but trailed 16-15 at halftime. The Spartans then outscored the Indians 4-3 in the third quarter and 8-5 in the fourth to pull out the win.
"We started out extremely patient on offense, which led to a few easy baskets and our solid defense helped us to an early advantage," SHS coach Dan Schulz said. "Menomonie controlled the tempo in the second quarter with their full court pressure. We made far too many unforced errors, and they converted our turnovers into lay ups and went on a 9-2 run to end the half."
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The Spartans got the tempo back in the third quarter by handling Menomonie's press and controlling the ball.
"That helped us work on taking good shots," Schulz said. "We also relied on our stingy defense, which allowed only eight second-half points."
With Superior leading 24-22 with 1:30 remaining, Kosey stood in the lane and drew a charging call that returned all the momentum to Superior halting Menomonie's threat.
In the win over Hudson, Lehikoinen led the Spartans with 18 points followed by Amys with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Blake added nine points, Hoff had five, Newman and Abby Gotelaere two each and Kosey one point and five assists.
Superior led 12-10 after one quarter, but trailed at the half 22-21. The Spartans then outscored the Raiders 12-9 in the third quarter and 18-9 in the fourth.
"MacKenzie (Newman) and Janelle (Strewler) gave us quality minutes late in the third quarter when Laura (Amys) picked up her third foul," Schulz said. "Our guards also did a nice job protecting the ball. We limited turnovers and Danielle (Berger) and Kara (Hoff) came off the bench and combined for five points while committing zero turnovers.
"The difference was our aggressiveness late in the third quarter and early in the fourth. Lehikoinen and Blake set the tone by getting into the paint on dribble penetration. They got us a couple of layups and a 3-point play which helped open up a lead we wouldn't relinquish because of smart fundamental play down the stretch."
Schulz also added the Blake's ball handling during the final three minutes helped in the victory.
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"What a tremendous asset she is to our team when we have the lead late," Schulz said. "Our opponents are forced to foul her and she's an excellent free-throw shooter."
The Spartans host Grand Rapids at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
SPARTAN SPIN: The SHS junior varsity lost to Hudson 42-21 and 45-18 to Menomonie. Bettye Nelson had 14 points in the two games for the Spartans and Gotelaere had eight.
