Southland Rebels Secure First Playoff Win in Four Years Led by Breeley Galle

ADAMS – Southland junior Breeley Galle had a remarkable week, achieving a scoring milestone and leading her team to their first playoff victory in four years. The No. 5 seeded Rebel girls basketball team dominated the No. 12 seed, Kingsland, with a final score of 59-28 in the Section 1A Tournament opener on Thursday.

Galle hit the 1,000 career points mark in Tuesday’s game against Spring Grove and continued her impressive performance with 16 points, three rebounds, and four assists in the win against the Knights (5-18 overall).

With an overall record of 17-8, Southland will face off against No. 4 Rushford-Peterson at Mayo Civic Auditorium on Monday at 7:30 p.m. This game marks the first time the Southland girls will compete at the Civic Center since 2019.

Reflecting on the recent successes, Galle expressed her excitement for the team’s accomplishments, stating, “This week has been amazing. Getting to the Civic Center has been one of our goals. We want to see how far we can go. I wasn’t even expecting 1,000 this week, but it was fun. We’ve been more intense in practice (lately) and we’ve been locked in.”

Emma Lewison, a junior at Southland who contributed four points and seven rebounds in Thursday’s victory, emphasized the competitive spirit within the team fostered by growing up alongside Galle. This camaraderie and dedication to improving as a team have been instrumental in their successful season, the best in a decade for the Rebels.

Looking ahead to the upcoming game at Mayo Civic Auditorium, Lewison shared her excitement, saying, “I’m really excited to play in the Civic Center. This is what we’ve all wanted since we were little.”

Despite the familiarity with players from Kingsland, particularly due to Galle’s involvement with the GMLOKS track and field team, competition took center stage during the game. Galle mentioned, “In warm-ups we’ll say hi, but once we get to the game we each have our own team that we’re playing for. After the game, we’re friends again.”

The Rebels took control of the game early on, leading 10-7 before embarking on a 20-3 run to establish a 30-10 advantage. They continued their dominance in the second half by scoring the first 10 points, sealing their victory.

Kingsland 17  11  –  28

Southland 37  22  –  59

Southland scoring: Breeley Galle, 16; Brynlee Koenigs, 13; Juliette Matheis, 9; Shannon Kiefer, 5; Clara Timm, 4; Emma Lewison, 4; Kaitlyn Schneider, 3; Addison Retterath, 2

Kingsland scoring: Chantel Reiland, 9; Hailee Warren, 7; Mcy Runk, 5; Lydia Redmen, 3; Vaira Merkel, 2; Jalee Hagstrom, 2