Springs hangs on against Kiel

Kiel gave St. Mary's Springs a scare in the final minutes.

The Ledgers made just enough plays down the stretch on Saturday afternoon to beat the Raiders 46-42 and win their home holiday tournament.

Kiel (8-3) went on a 19-5 run over the course of about 12 minutes in the second half, cutting a 15-point Ledger lead down to 1.

The Raiders had an opportunity to tie or take the lead after a timeout with 20 seconds left. Springs (8-2) had been playing zone but switched back to man for the final possession.

"As a coaching staff, we decided to go back to man and just asked our girls to give each other 19 seconds of man-to-man defense," coach Mitch Redig said. "Just making sure they didn't get that open look from the 3-point line and our girls stepped up to that challenge.

"Just really proud of the way that they're able to adjust to whatever our team needs."

Springs deflected the ball on the ensuing possession and forced a turnover. Sophomore Lauren Baker got fouled and made both free throws to clinch the win.

Those were Baker's only 2 points, but she impacted the game on the defensive end. Redig said he thinks she's starting to find her role on the team.

"As a sophomore, hitting those two free-throws with less than 10 seconds on the clock is huge," Redig said. "Not only for our team, but for her confidence. We'll have a conversation about that when we get back to practice and just tell her how important that was to our team."

Springs started with all the momentum, for the Ledgers built a 20-4 lead just eight minutes into the game. They pressured Kiel and forced live-ball turnovers, which they turned into easy baskets on the other end.

Jasline Loynes, who had a game-high 16 points, was one of the players who got into passing lanes. She said pressure defense results in the team's best offense.

"Our 2-3 [zone], when we do it and when me and Anna [Willis] go at the top, I think it brings a lot of energy for us," Loynes said. "We always know what we have to do, and we get a steal and just pass it to each other, so it just works.

"The energy is great to get a bunch of steals."

Senior Olivia Kremer had a big first half for Springs, scoring all 10 of her points in the first. Kremer had 6 second-chance points, including a big play just before halftime.

Grace Coon stole an inbounds pass and got fouled with 2 seconds left in the half. After making the first, she missed the second, but Kremer was there for the putback.

"Olivia [has] a very important role," Loynes said. "She knows how to post up and she knows what to do down low. She has a very good IQ, and her talking is very good on our defense."

Gracie Konkol chipped in 9 for the Ledgers. She made two 3-pointers from the left corner in the second half to keep Kiel at arm's length.

PHOTO GALLERY: Kiel at Springs girls basketball - 12/28/2024