Shots wouldn’t fall and the Exira-EHK Spartans saw their season come to an end in the Class 1A Quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon. MMCRU won the rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game 50-39.

An early 13-0 run in the first quarter put the Royals out front and Exira-EHK would never get closer than 7 points the rest of the game. The Royals led 28-14 at half and 43-25 by the end of the third. MMCRU made it difficult for the Spartans to get any paint touches for much of the game and they settled for a lot of outside shots. It was a rough go of it from outside with the Spartans going just 4-32 from three and only 15-51 from the field in the game. Spartan junior Quinn Grubbs said their defense wasn’t good enough early either.

The Royals were able to get their offense going a little bit better and also gained an edge by dominating the glass. The Royals outrebounded the Spartans 44-21, limiting the Spartans to only 4 second chance opportunities in the game. Emily Dreckmann scored 18 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots. Ellie Hilbrands added 8 points and 13 reboounds for the Royals. MMCRU pick up their first ever state tournament win as a merged district and improved to 24-1. They’ll advance to take on defending champion Newell-Fonda on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

The Spartans were led by 11 points each from Quinn Grubbs and Mollie Rasmussen. Exira-EHK finishes another impressive season with a 23-2 record. The Spartans said goodbye to seniors Alisa Partridge, Mollie Rasmussen, and Macy Emgarten. After the game Rasmussen talked about the accomplishments she can be proud of.

Grubbs was thankful for the time she has had with a good group of seniors and knows it will be a tough act to follow for the next guard.

It wasn’t the finish the Spartans had in mind, but they sure do have a lot to be proud of again.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.