Gladbrook-Reinbeck senior Elly Sieh pictured during the home game with Grundy Center last month. SUN COURIER PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

REINBECK – Seniors Elly Sieh and Kennedy Brant led the No. 8 Gladbrook-Reinbeck girls basketball team to a 69-21 battering of the BGM Bears here Tuesday night, sinking 28 and 25 points, respectively, for the Class 1A Region 8 quarterfinal win.

G-R’s week off from the hardwood seemingly had no effect on their performance Tuesday as the Rebels came out on fire, quickly racking up an 8-0 lead before the Bears (9-12) briefly emerged from hibernation to sink a 3-pointer and a field goal in quick succession. The first quarter ended 15-7 with G-R up but the score was misleadingly close as the Rebels struggled to shoot from the deep, missing six 3-pointers.

In the second quarter, G-R kept up its suffocating full-court pressure of BGM, racing to a 27-12 lead on the back of eight unanswered points, including the first Rebel 3-pointer of the game courtesy of Sieh who followed that with a pair of free throws. The run was bookended by junior Natalie Witt with another 3-pointer. The Rebels ended the first half ahead 30-15, but the damage could have been much greater had they not missed another seven 3-pointers across the second quarter.

G-R continued the full-court press in the third and Brant continued to be relentless on the boards leading the Rebels to outscore the Bears 24-2. During one particularly chaotic moment, BGM starter Emersyn Minnaert hit the floor, injuring herself. With no foul called, play continued and the Bears found themselves with only four girls on defense. Officials eventually stopped the game and Minnaert was pulled for the remainder of the evening.

With the clock continuously running in the fourth, G-R dropped the full-court pressure and slowly brought in the reserves while still managing to dominate – outscoring BGM 15-4 for a 69-21 win.

Against the Bears, Sieh led G-R with 28 points including two 3-pointers, while Brant had 25 points and most of the rebounds (full statistics were not available in time for publication). Senior Olivia Riffey tallied six points.

In the final moments of the game, freshman Reese Schneider came off the bench to drain one from the deep – providing reassurance that the Rebels look likely to retain their firepower for years to come.

G-R (19-3) is next set to host the Class 1A Region 8 semifinal against English Valleys (18-5) on Friday, Feb. 20. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Reinbeck.