Simley Girls Fall in Battle of Unbeatens

Simley came up a little short Thursday night in a battle of undefeated girls basketball teams.

Courtney Paul scored a game-high 13 points as Pine Island downed the Spartans, 42-35, in the championship game of the 13th annual Simley Girls Holiday Basketball Tournament at Simley’s gym.

Pine Island entered the tournament ranked ninth in Minnesota Class 2A. Simley was ranked 10th in Class 3A.

Pine Island, a Hiawatha Valley Conference team that’s now 11-0 this season, jumped out to a 21-15 halftime lead en route to taking the holiday tournament crown. The Panthers defeated St. Croix Lutheran on Tuesday and St. Paul Johnson on Wednesday to reach the title game.

Alexis Boyd-Lockett paced Simley’s balanced-scored attack with nine points. Abby Kain had seven points, while Shauna Horsch and Aejah Lockett had six apiece.

Now 9-1 overall, the Spartans reached the tournament championship game by defeating St. Louis Park, 72-40, on Tuesday and Holy Angels, 44-29, on Wednesday.

Through 10 games, Kain leads the Spartans in scoring, averaging 12.6 points a game. Horsch is averaging 11.2 points, while Boyd-Lockett is tipping in 11 points a game.

Simley opens its Classic Suburban Conference schedule by hosting North St. Paul at 7 p.m. Tuesday.