Baxter girls slay Spartans, eliminated by No. 2 Newell-Fonda

BAXTER — Erica Houge and Chloe Wierson average a combined 37 points per game for the Collins-Maxwell girls basketball team.

The game plan for Baxter when facing the Spartans was to make someone else beat them.

The Class 1A Region 2 contest was the third meeting between the two rivals and the Bolts’ plan worked in the first contest.

Back at home on Feb. 14, it was again the defense that led the Bolts to a win in the rubber match.

Baxter limited the Spartans’ two best players to fewer than half of their combined averages and another fast start against Collins-Maxwell helped the Bolts advance with a 46-35 victory.

“They were our main focus. We knew we couldn’t let them score a lot if we wanted to win,” Baxter sophomore Emie Tuhn said. “We focused in practice this week on making sure we had good help defense.”

The victory gave the Bolts a 2-1 win in the season series. Collins-Maxwell made four combined 3-pointers in the losses at Baxter and buried five in the home win.

Baxter’s defense also limited the Spartans to 27 percent shooting in the latest meeting. Collins-Maxwell was 4-of-17 from 3 and it committed 22 turnovers.

“Our energy and our attitudes were the difference in the two wins,” Baxter senior Mandee Selover said. “We had a lot more energy tonight.”

Tuhn led the Bolts with 17 points and Selover added 12.

The Bolts (16-5) led 15-8 after one quarter. The Spartans hung around early, but a 7-0 run that featured back-to-back buckets by Selover gave the home team the lead for good at 9-5.

The Spartans closed the gap to 9-8, but the period ended with back-to-back Baxter treys from Tuhn and Kendyl Stevenson.

Two more baskets by Selover in the second kept the Bolts in front by seven and Tuhn canned a wide-open 3 to push the margin to double-digits.

Tuhn scored the final two points of the half after she was fouled by Houge on a 3-point attempt.

The Bolts led 24-12 at the break. They held Houge and Wierson to a combined three points in the first two quarters.

“We were sagging off the corner girls to make sure we had help-side defense on Wierson,” Baxter head girls basketball coach Kyle Krampe said. “They like to go over the top so we needed to concentrate on having back-side help. We wanted to make the corners beat us.”

Houge scored six points in the first meeting and had 10 in the latest. In the Spartans’ win, the junior went for a career-high 40.

“We played a lot better help-side defense this time than last time,” Selover said. “Our goal was to annoy (Houge) and bug her so she’d get frustrated.”

The Bolts used another fast start in the third to pull away. Selover made a free throw and converted a putback and Tuhn and Stevenson buried back-to-back 3s again to push the margin to 33-12.

Wierson and Houge got consecutive buckets to close the gap before the fourth, but Baxter still led 33-16 after three.

Collins-Maxwell made a valiant effort in the fourth. The Spartans scored eight of the first 10 and Houge got five of them to trim the margin to 35-24.

The visitors got as close as 11 a few more times but couldn’t get the deficit any closer. The Bolts made nine free throws in the final 3:37 to stay in front.

“It was key to make free throws down the stretch,” Krampe said. “That’s been a struggle for us, but it was nice to hit a few when we needed them.”

Tuhn made 4-of-10 from 3 and 5-of-7 from the foul line to get to her 17 points. She also grabbed three rebounds and swiped four steals.

Selover finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, six steals and two blocks and Bree Buswell contributed six points, six rebounds and five assists.

Abbie Meyer registered four points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, Stevenson scored six points and Emma Ziesman grabbed five boards and collected two steals.

The Bolts shot 40 percent from the floor, made 6-of-19 from 3 and buried 12-of-20 from the foul line. They committed 20 turnovers but recorded 15 steals.

Houge, who averages more than 21 points per game, was held to 10 in the Spartans’ loss. Wierson led Collins-Maxwell with six points, 10 rebounds and four steals.

Collins-Maxwell shot 27 percent from the floor mostly because it was 4-of-17 from 3. The Spartans also made 7-of-12 from the charity stripe.

The defensive strategy against Wierson changed from the first two games, according to Selover.

“I mostly fronted her the first two games. But we changed it up to add more help-size defense,” Selover said.

Krampe thought his team did a good job slowing down Houge, too.

“We wanted to double her and make it tough on her,” Krampe said. “She’s a heckuva player. We really focused on hedging hard on her because she really likes to get downhill and get to the basket. We concentrated on making others beat us and keeping Erica out of the lane. Once she gets to the lane she’s really tough to defend.”

Newell-Fonda 78, Baxter 28

NEWELL — Too many turnovers and a tough shooting night sent the Bolts to a season-ending loss against second-ranked Newell-Fonda on Friday.

Baxter was held to single digits in each of the four quarters and Newell-Fonda made more than half of its shots from the floor and dominated on the glass during a 78-28 home win in 1A Region 2 semifinal action.

Newell-Fonda, which has reached at least the state semifinals in each of the past four seasons, led 27-4 after one and 47-12 at halftime.

Selover led the Bolts with 11 points and two rebounds and Meyer registered five points and six boards.

Tuhn collected six points and three assists, Buswell grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists and swiped two steals and Ziesman finished with three points and three rebounds. Stevenson also put in three points.

The Bolts shot 29.4 percent from the floor, made 3-of-8 from 3 and connected on 5-of-11 from the foul line. They committed 27 turnovers.

McKenna Sievers led the Mustangs with seven points, five rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. Kierra Jungers registered 11 points, six steals and six blocks and Mary Walker finished with a game-high 13 points and seven steals.

The Mustangs (21-2) shot 56.5 percent from the floor despite only making 5-of-21 from 3. They also connected on 3-of-8 from the foul line, out-rebounded the Bolts 34-17 and turned the ball over 13 times.

This was the first-ever matchup between the two schools. Newell-Fonda has won at least 20 games in 13 of the last 17 seasons and won three straight state 1A titles from 2018 to 2021.