Spencer girls can’t match Athens in regional game

With Spencer senior Heavyn Kind scoring 28 points in a Feb. 25 WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal at Athens, the Rockets had a chance for the upset win. It wasn’t to be, in part because the Bluejays had a large advantage from the free-throw line.

Athens scored the 48-43 win, hanging on in the end after the Rockets mounted a late 12-3 run to bring the final score to within five points. The Bluejays had a 19-13 lead at halftime and built that to 45-31 with 5:53 to play before Kind hit a trio of 3-pointers down the stretch.

Spencer managed to get the Athens lead under 10 points several times in the second half, only to see the Bluejays get a key score to regain the momentum.

With 12 minutes left in the game, Kind cut the Athens lead to 29-20 on fast-break score, but Jazelle Hartwig responded with a 3-pointer for Athens. With seven minutes to go, Kind got the Rockets within seven points by collecting a defensive rebound and dribbling the length of the court for a score. Athens answered with a 7-0 run, with Addison Lavicka scoring off the offensive glass and Sophia Coker getting a hoop in the low post.

Kind hit a 3-pointer with 1:05 left to get the lead under 10 again, and then canned one more trey on the last shot of her high school career with four seconds left.

In addition to Kind’s 28 points, Jorie Meyer scored eight for Spencer.

Lavicka led the Bluejays with 21 points and Coker added 11.

Athens had a 16-3 scoring advantage at the free-throw line in the game. The Bluejays had 34 attempts from the charity stripe while Spencer had nine.

Athens advanced to the regional final at Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, but lost a 61-60 decision on Feb. 26.