SHULLSBURG — They were two very different games played a week apart, but the final outcome was the same in both as the Shullsburg Miners girls’ basketball team posted a pair of victories to begin the 2017-18 season.
    The Lady Miners rallied to defeat Albany, 56-51, in overtime on the road on Monday, Nov. 20, in their season opener, and then rolled over the visiting Iowa-Grant Panthers, 69-32, in their home opener on Monday, Nov. 27, to improve to 2-0 overall on the season.
    At Shullsburg, on Monday. Nov. 27, senior guard Faith Ubersox scored all 13 of her points during a 29-4 first-half scoring run that put the Miners ahead 40-16 at the intermission, while sophomore guard Calli Jerry came off the bench for eight points in each half en route to a game-high 16 points in the Miners’ 69-32 rout.
    The Panthers (0-2) erased an early 8-1 deficit thanks to a seven-point scoring surge by sophomore Annie Spurley and took their final lead at 12-11 on a basket by senior Katie Olson with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
    Shullsburg stormed back with 10 unanswered points to grab a 21-12 advantage. The Panthers got back within five on back-to-back baskets by sophomore Olivia Liddicoat and Spurley, however the Miners closed the half with a 19-0 scoring run– 11 coming on three 2-point baskets and two 3-point baskets by Ubersox in the final four minutes– to build up a comfortable 40-16 halftime lead.
    The Miners scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second half to extend their lead to 50-18, and the Panthers never got closer than 26 the rest of the way.
    Senior center Brianna Leahy tallied 12 points and freshman point guard Layla Alt netted 11 to give the Miners four players in double figures for the game. Senior guard Nicole Teutschmann added eight for Shullsburg.
    Spurley scored nine of her team-high 13 points in the first half for the Panthers, while Olson recorded six of her 10 points in the second half.
    At Albany, on Monday, Nov. 20, Brianna Leahy nailed a long 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game in overtime, and the Lady Miners went on to outscore the host Comets, 8-3, in the extra session to earn a hard-fought 56-51 overtime decision in their season opener.
    The Comets (1-3) began the overtime period with a 3 to grab a 51-48 lead, but the Miners took the lead back on a basket by Nicole Teutschmann a short time later and left it up to the defense to close out the victory.
    Layla Alt shined in her varsity debut, pouring in a game-high 18 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
    Leahy registered a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds along with four assists and three blocked shots for the Miners, who used a 17-for-27 performance from the foul line to earn the win.
    Faith Ubersox chipped in with 10 points and six boards, while Teutschmann finished with eight points, five rebounds and two assists and freshman Kayla Klotz pulled down six rebounds and led the team with four steals.
    Kristen O’Bel scored 16 points to lead the Comets, who connected on 10 3-pointers in the game. 
    Shullsburg opens Six Rivers West play with a key contest at Potosi on Friday, Dec. 1, starting at 7:30 p.m.
 
Shullsburg…… 24   24  8 – 56
Albany………… 21   27  3 – 51
Shullsburg – Faith Ubersox 10, Kayla Klotz 2, Calli Jerry 1, Nicole Teutschmann 8, Brianna Leahy 17, Layla Alt 18. Totals – 18  17-27  56.
Albany – O’Bel 16, Kahler 3, Freitag 7, Anderson 6, Mortaloni 6, Beck 4, Zurfuhl 7, Flannery 2. Totals – 18  5-8  51.
3-point goals– S 3 (Teutschmann 1, Leahy 2), A 10 (O’Bel 4, Freitag 1, Anderson 2, Mortaloni 2, Zurfuhl 1). Total fouls– S 14, A na. Fouled out– None.
 
Iowa-Grant……. 16   16 – 32
Shullsburg……. 40   29 – 69
Iowa-Grant – Olson 10, T. Spurley 4, Liddicoat 5, A. Spurley 13. Totals – 13  4-10  32.
Shullsburg – Faith Ubersox 13, Kindle Cook 3, Kayla Klotz 2, Madison Russell 2, Calli Jerry 16, Nicole Teutschmann 8, Brianna Leahy 12, Megan Greenfield 2, Layla Alt 11. Totals – 24  12-23  69.
3-point goals– IG 2 (Olson 1, A. Spurley 1), S 9 (Ubersox 2, Cook 1, Jerry 4, Leahy 1, Alt 1). Total fouls– IG 18, S 13. Fouled out– None.