It was a rough go to conclude the week as the Spencer ladies closed out the week on the court against Lakes opponent Storm Lake and nonconference challenge, No. 9 Algona. The Tigers struggled in both contests, falling to 4-10 overall.

PERRY — Spencer finished in the middle of the pack — seventh with 105.5 points — at the Perry Tournament, Saturday. In the loaded event, the Tigers put three wrestlers in the consolation championships and came away with titles at 157 with Levi Johnson and 190 with Temi Otaniyi. At 132, Dylan Bacaam ended up fourth.

Coach David Doebel had a personal emergecy and was unable to offer comment.

Spencer fell Friday to No. 9 Storm Lake, now 8-1, 83-60 at home, before bouncing back Saturday, defeating Algona, 56-38. (Above) Tiger senior Brady Vreeman looks for a passing lane against Storm Lake’s defenders in Spencer’s home loss, Friday. Spencer will travel to Cherokee, Tuesday, concluding a coed feature. (Photo by Scott Merchant)

SPENCER BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL

Friday, Jan. 17 ― Spencer

Storm Lake 25, 20, 21, 17 ― 83

SIOUX RAPIDS — Sioux Central used first half dominance to establish a 46-9 halftime advantage en route to a 71-28 victory at home Friday night.

“This was a total team effort on a Friday night in front of the home court,” said Kasey Krager, head coach of the Rebels basketball team.

He continued, The girls' activity was good on both ends of the floor and we were able to see some things that we have been working on in practice.”

GOWRIE — The Rebel girls, despite being open in five weight classes, are the Twin Lakes champion.

Sioux Central traveled its boys and girls programs to Gowrie Saturday, where both teams competed in the Twin Lakes battle. The girls bested Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire by 2.5 points to get the title; while the Sioux Central boys racked up a fourth place with 156.5 points, including four title matches and one title.

SIOUX RAPIDS — Having its way with their guest is underselling Sioux Central’s boys dominance over the three opponents they hosted. With two open classes, the Rebels outscored their opponents 196-27. Sioux Central downed MMC/RU, 66-4; Southeast Valley, 59-17; and West Bend-Mallard, 71-6.

SIOUX RAPIDS — A 30-16 lead at the intermission sustained in the second half as Sioux Central beat visiting Southeast Valley, 51-43.

“I was really pleased with how we came out tonight, we wanted to set the tone early and we did that with some good defensive stops and excellent ball movement,” Stephen Tjaden, Rebel coach, said. “We sat down and guarded well and were able to maintain that lead into the second half.

Still, Tjaden found areas in need of improvement.

11th Annual Laker Athletics Hall of Fame inductees

The Youth Ice Fishing at Lost Island Lake on Saturday, Jan. 11, can definitely be considered a huge success. A total of 72 youngsters from around the area, age 15 and under, spent the morning on the ice learning about ice fishing technology from adult mentors, catching a variety of fish and just plain having fun on the ice!

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is hosting a series of town hall-style meetings where local staff will provide updates on recently completed hunting and trapping seasons, discuss possible changes to hunting and trapping rules and regulations, and address other topics as requested.

I looked out my office window today and saw a flock of swans flying by. For me, that was a pretty big deal. I’ve seen more swans in my home area in recent years. Certainly more than we saw just a few years ago, but I still consider it a new experience.

What a strange winter this has been. I think this becomes the standard comment about our weather as we go through each season. Think back to the incredible flooding last June, and then the ensuing dry conditions heading into fall and now the crazy “winterless” winter we have been experiencing.

SPENCER ― It was a busy night in the field house.

During a dual sweep against Le Mars and Hinton in the team’s lone home meet of the season, Spencer conducted Senior Night while recognizing junior Kyiah Logan’s 100th win and coach Dave Storm’s Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union honor.

And there was some wrestling too. The Tigers defeated Le Mars, 63-12, and Hinton, 48-33, in matches two and three.

SPENCER — Estherville Lincoln Central, ranked No. 2, had three ladies score in the 20s as the Midgets dominated Spencer in the field house, 71-29, Tuesday.

The Tigers managed double digits in just one quarter and had only a single player, Sydnee Hopkins, score more than five. Hopkins had 12 with a perfect 9-for-9 at the free-throw line. She was the only player to reach the line for the team.

SIBLEY — Spencer split at Sibley-Ocheyedan, Tuesday, beating host 44-29 while dropping a 47-24 battle with fellow traveler Hinton. Five Tigers finished 2-0 on the night including Caden Gress, Easton Beehler, Dylan Baccam, Levi Johnson and Jake Schipper, 2-0 at 106, 126, 132, 157 and 285. The head coach didn’t comment or send information on the duals. The Tigers travel to Perry Saturday where they will compete in a tournament, starting at 9:30 a.m.