Spartans pile up three conference wins

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Somerset’s girls basketball team is suddenly streaking up the Middle Border Conference standings.

The Spartans are riding a five-game wave of wins, with four of those wins coming in conference play. The Spartans are now 6-5 in MBC games, one-half game behind fourth place Prescott. The Spartans are 10-6 overall.

The fifth win in that streak came on Monday, when the Spartans won a make-up game at Baldwin-Woodville, 53-33.

Baldwin-Woodville is at the bottom of the conference standings and is struggling to put forth any substantial offense. Somerset coach Bill Powers decided to use Monday’s game to work on skills he wants to use in the Spartans’ upcoming games.

On Thursday the Spartans will be playing at Osceola. With a win, the Spartans could leap past Osceola in the WIAA tournament seeding. The seeding is scheduled to be done over the weekend. The Spartans also face a key game next Tuesday, playing at Amery.

In Monday’s game the Spartans were a bit sluggish at the start, before rolling past the Blackhawks. Senior Kellie Ring tallied 23 points and sophomore Karli Solum scored 10 points. They were also the team’s rebound and steal leaders, with Ring collecting eight rebounds and six steals and Solum six rebounds and five steals.

Last Friday the Spartans won at home over Ellsworth, 52-45. The Spartans rocketed out to a 19-7 lead in the first quarter and kept the lead the rest of the game.

“After the big start we kind of coasted,” Powers said. “We let them hang around.”

Ring led the Spartans with 16 points and Ashley Martell scored 13 points. Solum had a big night on the boards, grabbing 12 rebounds. She also stole the ball four times. Ring chased down eight rebounds and Amy Wells contributed seven rebounds.

The Spartans played a thriller in New Richmond last Tuesday. The Spartans saw New Richmond give its best performance of the season, but the Spartans were still able to match it and win 54-52.

New Richmond rallied in the final seconds to tie the game. Ring was fouled with eight seconds left and she drained both free throws for the winning points.

The Spartans had to withstand a large opening effort from the Tigers. New Richmond built a sizeable lead in the opening minutes. The Spartans cut into the lead late in the first quarter, then overtook the Tigers by outscoring them 17-4 in the second quarter. The Spartans led 28-20 at halftime and 39-33 after three quarters.

Ring led the Spartans with 19 points at New Richmond. Martell scored 10 points and Wells eight points.

“It was a good game for us to see if we can handle the pressure,” Powers said. “It was a wake-up call to see that we need to play with more intensity.”

Powers said one of the reasons behind the winning streak is more players are making offensive contributions. He pointed to Wells, Lauren Westerdahl and Alicia Potting as players who have upped their offensive production in recent games.

Tags: new richmond, sports, girls, basketball, somerset