Spring Valley girls basketball was looking for a spark coming out of the winter break, and they got it, winning two out of three tight games to improve to 4-5 on the year.

The first came against Prairie Farm/Clayton, a low-scoring affair in which Spring Valley came out on top 39-33.

“I thought our kids played really well. Took care of the basketball, hit some good shots, played good defense,” Head Coach Sean Hoolihan said.

The Panthers are a good team, bringing some notable wins to the table. Sophomore Katie Matthys led the team with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

In the second game against Bruce, both teams were tied at the end of regulation, and again at the end of overtime before Spring Valley secured a 63-57 win in double overtime. Freshman Amelia Brunner had 15 points and 11 rebounds (eight offensive) and five steals, and senior Rylie Fritz had 13 points, 12 rebounds and six steals.

Neither team shot the ball well in the game, with Spring Valley at 18-of-73 on the day. The Cardinals did what they do best, find a way to win.

“Against Bruce we were pretty flat and couldn’t seem to make a shot,” Hoolihan said. “Defensively, we just fouled way too much.”

Spring Valley cleared the boards, collecting 24 offensive rebounds in the win. On the flip side, Spring Valley fouled 24 times which led to 27 Bruce free throw attempts. Hoolihan said they have to play smarter to avoid giving away free points at the line.

Against Alma/Pepin, Spring Valley made a late surge, but came up just short 49-48.
“Again, we came out real flat,” Hoolihan said. “I’d say for 26 minutes of that game we played really well. First 10 minutes we did not play very good.”

Freshman Riley Zimmerman had 16 points, 10 rebounds (seven offensive) and four steals. Matthys had 14 points of her own and senior Addison Neidermyer had seven rebounds (five offensive). The Cardinals again had a big day on the glass, bringing in 16 offensive rebounds.

“Proud of the way they played, just sometimes we make some young mistakes,” Hoolihan said.

Coming up on a four-game conference stretch against Clear Lake, Elmwood/Plum City, Durand-Arkansaw and Glenwood City, going through those close battles may make a difference.

“You always hope, being put in those situations, that it does help you down the road,” Hoolihan said. “You always want to win those games, but what I like about our team is our team really plays to the end, tries not to get caught up in the score too much. We just try to play to the standard that we have set for us.”