In a game that came down to the final seconds and then extra minutes the Exira-EHK girls basketball team found a way to get a home win over Glidden-Ralston 57-54 on Saturday afternoon.  Sophia Peppers hit a three as time expired to tie the game at 48 and send it to overtime.  Peppers then scored 8 of her team’s 9 points in overtime to help keep the Spartans record unblemished at 13-0.

It was a tight game throughout as the Wildcats led by 5 at the end of the first, the Spartans rallied to lead by 2 at half, and the Wildcats grabbed a two point lead at the end of three. It was a cold shooting night for the Spartans and Coach Tom Petersen said he was proud of his team for finding a way to win.  Prior to the game-tying three, Peppers only had 6 points and had been short all night on her outside shots.  The one the Spartans needed splashed straight through.  She also came up huge in the key segment of overtime that spurred the win. Peppers calmly stepped to the line and nailed two free throws that tied the game at 54 with about a minute left and moments later the Spartans came up with a steal and Peppers finished with a transition lay in to take the lead at 56-54.  The Wildcats would then miss a great opportunity for a hoop and Kealey Nelson ended up on the free throw line and made one of two with 1.5 seconds left to put the final margin at 3.

And that’s just talking about the Spartans big plays. Julia Fleecs had a monster game for Glidden-Ralston and the Wildcats had a slight lead for much of the game. Fleecs finished with 30 points and was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and overtime.  Madison Whitver got open a number of times on the block and finished with 10 points for the Wildcats who are now 10-2 on the season.

#3 vs #4 in the Class 1A rankings lived up to all expectations and then some in a great battle.