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By NEIL O. NELSON

Daryl McSparron was as exhausted as his granddaughter when the high school basketball season ended for Brittnye McSparron and the Eastview Lightning.

The Lightning, led by McSparron, captured third place in the season-ending Class AAAA state tournament played in Minneapolis.

The leading scorer for Eastview, McSparron was named to the All-Metro first team and state tournament team. She’s also a finalist for the Miss Basketball title that will be announced April 27.

Oh, there’s more, Daryl tells.

Brittnye, daughter of Brett and Belinda McSparron, Apple Valley, Minn., finished the season as the Eastview School’s leading scorer in basketball. Her 1,627 career points is the best in both girls and boys basketball.

She led the Lake Conference, the state’s toughest league, in scoring as the Lightning won back-to-back conference titles. Apple Valley’s Eastview team finished the season 29-3.

Brittnye plans to play basketball at Drake University next year, according to her grandfather.

“She’s been playing ball darn near year-round for several years now.”

She did take a break from basketball to play soccer this fall, says Daryl, who followed his granddaughter in the post-season listening to a radio-Internet feed. Daryl caught one game played on his computer screen, thanks again to the Internet.

“It was a pretty exciting couple of weeks.”

Brittnye, Daryl tells, is glad it’s finally over.

So is he.

Still, he admits, “it all makes an ol’ granddad pretty proud.”

The two talked on the phone or by e-mail after nearly every big game.

Brittnye McSparron averaged 23 points a game this year. She had five 30-plus point games, including a 41-point effort against Osseo earlier in the season.

She’s been awarded a full scholarship at Drake and plans to study pharmacy.

Her father, Brett McSparron, is a 1982 HHS graduate.

Daryl McSparron, former Main Street Hillsboro businessman, has retired and lives on his farmstead near the Traill-Cass County line.