Exira-EHK held a 3 point lead at halftime of their Class 1A Region 4 Final against Remsen St. Mary’s on Thursday night. Then the Hawks turned the game on it’s head with a 17-0 run to start the second half. Remsen St. Mary’s outscored the Spartans 22-8 in the third quarter to swing the momentum in their favor. Exira-EHK would battle to the end, getting as close as six points in the final two minutes but the Hawks held on. Exira-EHK head coach Tom Petersen said that run was rough but he was proud that his team kept fighting.

Remsen St. Mary’s got 15 points from leading-scorer Whitney Jensen, 13 of which came in the second half. Carmindee Ricke added 13 points and Mya Bunkers dropped in 11 for the Hawks. Remsen-St. Mary’s advances to their first ever girls state basketball tournament and improved to 23-1 on the season.

Exira-EHK got 19 points from senior Shay Burmeister and fellow senior Quinn Grubbs added 9. Coach Petersen tried to put the words together to describe the phenomenal careers that Grubbs and Burmeister have had.

The Spartans end their season with a mark of 19-5 and fall just shy of reaching the state tournament for the third straight season.