Story and photos by Mike Gesler Tri-County 54 Grant 48 The Grant Tigers have been steadily improving throughout this shortened and weird Coronavirus influenced season. At the start of the season, even the Grant faithful had to wonder what their chances would be come District time. Having only three seniors, and a total of five with varsity experience, this young squad had a gigantic learning curve ahead of them. Yet these never-give-up cagers, under the coaching of Josh Delamater, stuck through with grit and determination. So much so that after last week’s impressive win over Chippewa Hills, they had the Grant Nation wondering if maybe, just maybe, these young ladies may be on track to make a District run. To make that run, the Tigers would first need to get through the Vikings of Tri-County who came into this first round of Districts with a 10-5 record, and beating the Tigers twice during the regular season by fifteen each time. And from the start of tonight’s game, it appeared that the Tigers would be no match for the Vikings. Tri-County jumped out to a six point lead before sending Julie Ashbaugh to the line. Ashbaugh hit both shots as Sami Wolff came off the bench giving Grant the spark they needed by draining a three and bringing the Tigers within one. Ashbaugh then took over, putting up another five points as the Tigers frustrated the Vikings at the board and closed the first quarter with a two point lead. The Tigers had settled in and found their groove dominating play in the second. They shut down the driving lanes forcing Tri-County to shoot from distance. They played aggressive under the boards. They out hustled the Vikings full court press which led to multiple scoring opportunities, and put the Vikings on their heels. By the time the half buzzer sounded, Grant went into the locker room with an impressive first half leading Tri-County 30-19. Tri-County came out of the locker room dead set on making sure this was not going to be the game that ended their season. They cleaned up the mistakes of the first half now forcing Grant to shoot from outside and blocking out the inside. They outscored Grant in the first five minutes thirteen to two tying up the score at thirty-two a piece. Tri-County had clearly retaken control of this game, but Grant was not about to simply let them have it without a fight. By the time the third quarter ended, thanks largely to a three point bucket by Jaycee Rider with less than a minute remaining, Grant held a slim one point margin before the final eight minutes would be played out. If there is one thing the Tigers can be proud of tonight is the fact that they left everything on the court. With four minutes remaining in the game, these two teams were locked up at forty apiece. Tri-County managed to go up by six with a minute nineteen left on the clock, but even that did not stop the Tigers. They forced the Vikings to the line, and with only thirty-two ticks left brought the game within two. However, within those last thirty-two ticks, Tri-County went six for six from the line while the Tigers only picked up two. Thus ending a season full of growth for Grant 54-48. “I told them at halftime, they’re going to come out, and they’re going to be ready to play. They are going to throw something different at us. They’re going to come out with a fire. We have got to be ready for that, and our youthfulness and inexperience really showed in that third quarter,” stated Coach Delamater. “We kind of got things back under control, and battled at the end. We just didn’t have the experience at the end to get over that. But definitely in the right direction of stuff that we want to see. That was a team that beat us twice by fifteen points, and to battle them, and to put them in that position to have to finish that game off was really great for our girls.”
So while this may not have been the Cinderella season the Grant faithful may have hoped for, tonight was definitely a wakeup call to their opponents and a sign of better days yet to come. This young Tiger squad roared mightily tonight letting the Tiger Nation know that in the coming years, it is they who are going to be the force to be reckoned with. Two Tigers saw double digits tonight; Sara Arends with twelve, followed by Trinity Swanson with eleven. Julie Ashbaugh put up nine, Sami Wolff downed eight, Jaycee Rider saw six, and Chloee Chase finished with two.
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" A great group of girls"- Coach Zerlaut
Sparta 58 Fremont 36 In front of an eerily small crowd the Spartans took control early by utilizing an effective press that forced the Packers into a sea of turnovers and countered the lone basket by Haley Zerlaut with 16 points. Fremont regrouped a bit and reached the end of the first down 18-7. The second quarter played pretty even as The Pack got some shots to fall and were able to work their way to the charity stripe for 7 of their points and when the dust had cleared the teams went to break with Sparta holding a 30-18 lead. The second half began much like the game had with the Spartans building their lead to over 20 points before the Packers found the basket again, but by then the game was pretty much in hand. Coach Zerlaut — “I had a great group of girls this season. They worked hard, competed the way we asked them to, and came to practice with a positive attitude about improving. We did improve throughout the season in many ways, we just never got to where we needed to be offensively. Our shooting deficiencies plagued us all year. I appreciate all the things our seniors have done for our program. As for our returners, we have plenty to work on and will do all that we can to get better in the offseason.” Kennedy Christoffersen and Mia Witte led Fremont with 8 points each. Sparta was led by Bella Vallone's 13 points. Sparta will face conference rival Comstock Park Wednesday at 7pm. Strait, Thompson, Watson hit double figures
White Cloud 63 Holton 19 The Red Devils proved no match for a red hot White Cloud squad who came out firing on all cylinders and took their foot off the gas. Cloud sharpshooter Alexis Strait had the hot hand dropping 22 points on Holton while picking pockets for 7 steals. Cassie Watson also put up numbers hitting for a career high 14 points while working the glass for a half dozen boards.Naomi Thompson also felt the heat as she burned the nets for 15 and collected 4 steals along the way. Coach Brown:”The seniors really stepped up with a colossal effort on both sides of the court. Next up is Kent City and everybody knows what can happen in March. Are the stars aligned?” The Indians will face the Eagles for the third time this season Wednesday at 7pm Ravenna 64 Lakeview 33 The Bulldogs took hold of this one early behind the play of Emily Crowley and Delany Mabrito and advanced to face Morley Stanwood Wednesday at 5:30pm Busy week. N3 will be travelling south all week to bring you the story on the One and Done season that lies ahead. Fremont last made it to the Regionals in 2018 and faces some tough opposition in their quest to return. Newaygo and Grant will go another round and Holton has its eyes on getting that District trophy presented in their home gym. Hesperia’s District has already lost two teams before anyone tips off as host Evart and Pine River bow out with COVID concerns. Lots of excitement ahead and likely a few upsets along the way, so stay in touch. We’ll be bringing home the bacon when it comes to coverage. D2 At Comstock Park The Packers are seeded 2nd while the Broncos out of the always rugged OK Blue sit in the top spot. Three of Fremont’s losses were against teams with a collective record of 33-1. The fourth was against Ludington, the only common opponent with Coopersville. The Broncos blasted the Orioles raining a barrage of triples by S, Castenholz, Cody, and Stewart. The Packers have some momentum going into the postseason and would love a District title to soothe the sting of a missed conference crown. It’s not an easy path since the winner of Sparta and Park will prove a test and the homesteading Panthers in particular have derailed past Packer teams. Brayden McDonald will be drawing a lot of attention in this tourney but, hey, he’s drawn a lot of attention all year and still finished as the team's top scorer who can find his teammates when they try to double up on him. Payton Mansfield has done an exceptional job in the post this season providing some muscle inside and Coach Zerfas has watched his bench develop and grow as the season has progressed. Coach Zerfas: "As we all know anything can happen in the playoffs, but I really like where we are right now. We had our whole team together this last week and it showed, beating two teams by an average of 35 points. I think we are peaking at just the right time." Tuesday Grant vs. Newaygo 5:30pm Catfight in Comstock. Ready for round 3? This rivalry gets to have a rubber match this year with the winner moving forward to face Coopersville. The teams both held home court this season and get to decide on bragging rights in a neutral setting. Both teams recently played Big Rapids tough. When finding the shots Stephens and Mortenson can provide explosive offense for the Lions but it has been the development of Decker, Long and Schillman that has brought this team some notable progress. The Tigers also possess some firepower with Schuitema, Evans, Long, etc. If Butchart gets some room down under he can provide some putback points in a hurry. Tossup. These games usually go the way of whichever team makes that timely run. My hunch is whoever gets the hot hand after the break will move on. Coach Scuitema: “We're excited to have a chance to keep playing and to be able to play against rival Newaygo is perfect." Sparta vs. Comstock Park 7pm Two teams from the OK Silver who both finished middle of the pack. In their first meeting the Spartans prevailed but it was the season opener and both teams are likely far different than they were then. The Panthers have lost their last 3 and Sparta has dropped 4 out of the last 5. Panthers are playing on their home court, Thursday Coopersville vs Grant /Newaygo winner 5:30pm Fremont vs. Sparta/Comstock Park winner 7pm Saturday Finals 1pm D3 At Holton Ravenna and WMC are 1-2 in seeds at Holton. The Bulldogs haven’t lost to anyone not named Whitehall since a mid February defeat right here in the Red Devil gym. Jones and Beebe are two of the Ravenna players who can do some damage on the scoreboard. The Warriors have Varanda, Liggett, Fairfield and a few others who can counter with some points of their own. And those pesky Vikings that delivered a duo odf defeats on the Dawgs? The Warriors beat them by a dozen. Tuesday White Cloud vs. Holton 5:30pm The Indians will need to score a lot here to have any hopes of advancing Venema, Ruether, Cox & Co. will find the going tough against a Red Devil team that rolled over them by 30+ points a week ago, Led by Poling and a supporting cast of Monette, Fowler, Fialek, etc. the Devs went into a short slump after an emotional 2 OT win over Kent City losing 3 out of 4 then busted out with the 2 wins that secured the title. And they’re at home. Coach Jones: “Depending on what team shows up we could have a short or decent run. Inconsistency with this team has hurt us all year long. We have the talent to play with anybody in our district. We will leave it all on the court on Tuesday against Holton Coach Swanson: “We are looking forward to the challenges of the tournament knowing we need to play our best basketball of the season this coming week. " Morley Stanwood vs, North Muskegon 7pm Norse sharpshooter McManus is hard to contain but Morley has the defenders to do it. The Mohawks lost the first and last games of the regular season to Holton but in between won a bunch of games but not one against a team with a winning record. Fortunately the Norse don’t possess a winning record Thursday WMC vs. WC/Hol winner 5:30pm Ravenna vs. MS/NM winner 7 pm Saturday Finals 7pm D3 At Evart This District has been turned around by the withdrawal of Pine River and Evart. That leaves four teams with a combined record of 8-48 vying for a spot in the Houghton Lake Regional Tuesday Mason County Central vs,Shelby 5:30pm The Tigers beat the Spartans twice early in the season. Once in a romp and the second in overtime. Hart vs. Hesperia 7pm The Pirates haven’t won many games. The Panthers haven’t won any. Coach Worcester has kept his team together through a season of futility and while it’s highly unlikely they would be moving on, 2 years ago a winless Panther team beat the Cloud and found themselves in the District Finals. Thursday Finals 7pm Bracket busted? Need a new Tourney to follow? High School Madness begins this week.
Second Season. A.k.a. ‘The Dance’ where everyone is invited to get out on the floor but mind you, make one misstep and you’re sitting the rest of the party out. It’s the time of year when teams that may have struggled through the season suddenly get hot and out of the blue Cinderella is headed for the Regionals having taken down the District favorite. Last year we all embraced a Lion Girls team that willed itself into a Regional Final after facing a litany of all staters and state ranked teams along the way. On theBoys side there was avid anticipation for an impending rematch between the Packers and the Comstock Park team that knocked them out early the previous year. The winner would be playing their next game in the West Catholic Regional. Then it all came to a sudden end, of course. .And while unarguably unfortunate one must admit it dramatically increased the number of teams ending their season with a win. As in around 80 in the two D2 divisions as opposed to 2. But we digress. Here’s a peek at the upcoming week on the hardcourt for our local Girls teams. Tune in tomorrow and we’ll share our thoughts on the battles awaiting the Boys squads. Division 2 Sparta District Considering that the 15-1 Lions are seeded second it can be assumed this is one tough district. Comstock Park lost an all stater to graduation and merely went 10-0 this season. Granted, half of those were by 4 points or less and only 2 teams on their schedule finished with winning records but, hey, 10 in a row is still 10 in a row and Panther Emily Heitzelman is giving opponents fits. Newaygo has lost once. A lengthy road trip down to Portland the day after a win over Reed City resulted in a loss to the Raiders one of 2 games the Lions failed to reach at least 48 points. They have a lot of weapons on offense led by Jaylee Long and her ability to penetrate, Jaxi Long and Brummel laser shots from distance and Goodin whose inside game seems to have elevated into another level of late. But it’s the defense that puts a choke hold on opponents. Only once this season did a team score more than 40 on the Lions and watch them for one quarter and you’ll see why. This is a team that swarms over their competition with Fisk seemingly all over the court when the Lions slap on a press. There are no weak links on this team and they carry out the business of winning with a grinding determination. They’re one of those rare teams that never seem to lose but on occasion they run out of time. We hope it’s a good run before they run out of time. Coach Thomasma:"The cliche of 'one game at a time' is one that we use and believe. Anything can happen and we're aware of that. Our District is always tough. There are a lot of good coaches and teams. We're just focused on controlling what we can control (ourselves) and preparing to play either Grant or Tri-County on Wednesday." Monday’s Games Grant vs Tri County 5:30pm The teams played twice and twice the Vikes walked away with a 15 point win though the score stayed tight for most of both games. TC has only lost once to a team not named Newaygo or Central Montcalm and Bialek, Bowen and Sipple can put a hurt on teams with their ability to find the hoop. This is a young Tiger team but they have a season under their belts and Ashbaugh, Rider, and Swanson are among the Grant players who can get a hot hand. N3’s Mike Gesler made this observation after a loss to CM. “The game in itself was a sign that this young Tiger team continues to improve. They roared back to tie the game in the third before the Hornets went on a twelve point run giving them a ten point margin to start the fourth. Yet Grant did not let that be the game, and continued to battle hard letting Central Montcalm know if they wanted this win, they would need to earn every point.” As TC will have to do on Monday night. Coach Delamater: “It's a whole new season for everyone. We are hoping to put together some consistency and get a win on Monday. Tri-County is a good team, but we competed with them in both games and didn't play as well as we are capable of. If we do a good job of handling their pressure and limit our turnovers, we will be in good shape.” Fremont vs. Sparta 7pm Coach Zerlaut has done a really good job with this team. With nearly an entire new cast on the floor the Packers opened with back to back against the conference best and were soundly defeated. They lost the next four as well but they were in each of those games and regrouped with a modest yet impressive 3 game win streak. They’ve improved defensively, have Miller, Zerlaut the Bennet’s and others who can score, but they often go through collective dry spells. Monday’s matchup would be a big win for this Packer team. They played the Spartans tough and definitely possess the kind of shooters who can get hot enough to toss a close game. The key will be keeping it close. Coach Zerlaut: “Sparta plays a very aggressive style of basketball. They play full court defense the whole game, trap the ball handler, and are very physical. We turned the ball over 28 times when we played them this past Monday and were still in the game the whole way because we shot the ball pretty well, leading for most of the first half. We need to handle their pressure better this week. They are a good team. We have played well at times this season, but not consistently enough. Our success Monday will likely come down to whether or not we can limit our turnovers, and of course we need to put the ball in the basket when we get open looks.” Division 3 White Cloud District Make no mistake, the team to beat in this district is clearly Kent City The two top seeds are the Eagles and the Mohawks. In their two meetings KC beat Morley by 10 then thumped them by 30 this past week. The Eagles smother teams and possess prolific scores led by Bowers and Harrison. Morley will present a challenge to the survivor of Ravenna/Lakeview. They’re a good team and it’s hard to beat any good team 3 times in a season. Unless you’re a really, really good team. Monday’s Games Lakeview vs. Ravenna 5:30pm The Bulldogs have won just once in their last 8 games. Outside of a 9 point loss to Holton the closest the Wildcats have come in their other 9 losses has been 39 points. Credit to the Lakeview team for their resilience but to move past Ravenna they also need points and while the Dawgs don’t score a lot they’re likely to have a lot more opportunities than the ‘Cats on Monday. Holton vs. White Cloud 7pm First time they met the Cloud won by a couple dozen. Last time the margin was narrowed to 10. The Indians have been on a W-L-W-L-W run of late. The Red Devils have improved. A lot. And Bossett, Robins and Fowler provide some firepower. Whether it’s been enough to overcome the game provided by Strait, Thompson, Watson… And if Scarlavai is back in action? Tough hill to climb. Winner gets Kent City. Tougher hill to climb. Shelby District The top seeds are the Panthers and the Pirates. Hesperia has put together a solid season behind the triple threat of Bayle, Tinkham and Romero. Hart has Morgan Marvin in the middle and the three teams that have beaten the Pirates have a cumulative record of 45-1. Coach Grodus: “This is our first year in this particular region. Hart is the number 1 seed. They have had an outstanding season. We are the number two seed. We will have to play well to advance, but our team is ready and energized for the challenge.” Monday’s Games Mason County Central vs. Leroy Pine River 5;30pm Evart vs. Shelby 7pm Wednesday MCC/Pine River winner vs. Hesperia 5:30pm Evart/Shelby winner vs. Hart 7pm Story and photos by Mike Gesler Grant 74 Chippewa Hills 28 Grant celebrated Senior Night tonight which saw eight players playing in their last home game. Talking with Grant’s coach, Joe Schuitema, the eight seniors, Diego Krepps, Orion Evans, Jed VanderWeide, Cole Lesley, Brett Long, Payton Swinehart, Elliot Butchart, and Gage Burrows biggest regret was their inability to have all of them playing together at one time. What they won’t regret was the absolute domination that the Tigers had over their Chippewa Hills opponents as well as leaving the court with each teammate finding the net. It was a night that finally saw how commanding the Tiger offense could have been this season. To say this game was all Grant is an understatement. In a weird twist that was so apropos for this uncommon season, Grant started their scoring effort with Seth Schuitema shooting two due to a scorebook irregularity technical assessed to Chippewa Hills before the clock even started. They then put in another six before Chippewa Hills got on the board. And honestly, that is pretty much how the game went which makes it difficult and boring to write about, but exciting and fun for the Tiger faithful who got to witness this slaughter. To watch the Tigers working as a team no matter which personnel was on the court was exactly what Grant needed going into District play. I am really proud of our guys. It’s been a long, weird season in every way possible,” stated Schuitema. “To be able to play like they did tonight in front of a home crowd. To execute the way they did. It didn’t matter who was on the court. I thought they really brought energy, and kind of a consistent style of offense maybe for the first time really for us for a full thirty-two minutes. I feel bad for Chip because they’re down a few players, and they just kept working hard as you would expect out of them. We wanted to match that tonight so we could go out on top. Last home game for these guys tonight, and eight seniors that’s a lot. Real proud of them.”
Leading tonight for the Tigers was Elliot Butchart who constantly found himself open in the paint allowing him to put fourteen on the scoreboard followed by Seth Schuitema with thirteen and Orion Evens with eleven. Brett Long had nine and Gage Burrows contributed seven. Diego Krepps and Cole Lesley each had four. Matthew Mansfield and Payton Swinehart sunk in three, and Jed VanderWeide, Isaac Higgins, and Sawyer Carr each had two. The Tigers open their District play on Tuesday in Comstock Park in what should be an exciting match up against their near north rivals Newaygo. Story and photos by Mike Gesler Grant 63 Chippewa Hills 28 Not only was this the last game of the regular season, but it was also the last home game for the Tigers before entering District play. Grant celebrated Senior Night as well recognizing their three seniors on this young squad; Sami Wolff, Trinity Swanson, and Mackenzie Ritz. It turned out to be a game that was all Grant, and would leave the Tigers on a high note giving them a much needed confidence boost. From the start, Grant played hard, they pressed hard, and they got in the face of this young Chippewa Hills’ squad. They dominated both sides of the court, and created multiple turnover opportunities. But their real break out came in the third quarter. Coming out of the half, Grant was sitting on a 27-12 lead. Chippewa Hills tried to match the pressure and press that Grant had shown through the first half, unfortunately this left Chippewa Hills vulnerable on the inside along with giving the Tigers five free trips to the line. The Tigers quickly put up five before the Warriors answered with two. Then Grant’s Julie Ashbaugh took over from there. The Tiger’s went on a sixteen point run with Ashbaugh accounting for ten of those sixteen. The Warriors stopped the bleeding with a three pointer by Desiree Brown, but Madison Thompson answered back with three for Grant to end the quarter with Grant now in clearly in command 50-17. Chippewa Hills managed to get some things working in the fourth, but by that point it was too late. The Tigers easily dominated for their final home game ending the regular season with a 5-11 overall record, and a record of 5-9 in conference play. They will pair up against Tri-County in Sparta for their first game in Districts on Monday.
“What I really want to see from this game is for the girls to start believing in that stuff when we start playing against a good team,” shared Grant’s coach, Josh Delamater. “They always love to score look. They love to look at the scores and compare. We’re always, comparison wise, pretty equal with a lot of teams I think. Then we play against them, and we just don’t have that belief that we can get to that next level. Obviously now it’s loser-go-home so we got to go out, and we got to play. We got to put the stuff that we did well tonight to use on Monday against Tri-County. I think that we have a good shot at it so we’ll see what happens.” Leading tonight for the Tigers, which saw ten players putting up points, was Julie Ashbaugh with sixteen. Jaycee Rider and Trinity Swanson each had eight. Sami Wolff, Sara Arends, and Chloee Chase added six each. Jayci Hance and Makayla Zerlaut knocked down four apiece with Madison Thompson (3) and Mackenzie Ritz (2) also contributing. Injury Halts Packer Contest; Cards Fight Off Lions; Cloud Clips Panthers
Holton 56 Morley Stanwood 45 The Red Devils took an early lead and were knocking at the door of an undisputed title Friday night but the ‘Hawks, led by a 3 point barrage by Justin Cranney, refused to go away. Fortunately Holton has sharpshooters of their own on the court. Austin Fowler provided some breathing room just before intermission with a three and after MS fought their way back into the lead late in the third Wyatt Monette answered with a triple. That basket gave the Devs the edge they would hang onto for the remainder of the night thanks in part to another Monette shot from distance early in the 4th, a score that proved to be a backbreaker for the hosts. Coach Swanson: “We had a battle tonight at Morley Stanwood. The game was tight all the way through. We had a nice run in the early 4th quarter that ended being the difference tonight. “I'm so blessed to be able to coach the guys on this team. They had to persevere through a lot tonight, and this season, and in the end they are rewarded with an outright Conference title.” Aidan Poling finished with a game high 21 points and delivered some key shots from the charity stripe. Monette and Fowler each nailed an even dozen and Brodrick Fialek knocked down 8. Hesperia (12-5, 10-0) Morley Stanwood (9-5, 8-2) Big Rapids 60 Newaygo 50 The Lions hung tough as they battled a Cardinal team bent on securing an outright title. For 3 quarters the hosts held off DeMarcus Lee & Co. throwing everything they could at the Cards including firing in 6 from distance. Clinging to a 1 point edge entering the 4th, Newaygo saw BR kick it into high gear with a combination of opportunistic defense and pinpoint shooting to outgun the Lions 18-7 and grab the crown. Gabriel Schillman hit for a team high 15 points, Josiah Long rang in 8 and Wyatt Mortenson banked 7. Bryce Decker proved to be strong in the paint once again taking down 9 tough rebounds to go with his 10 points. Coach Long: “The four Newaygo seniors, Hayden Makenna, Hudson Harkness, Wyatt Mortensen, and Ashton Stephens, played their last home game and competed hard. "It was a pleasure and an honor to coach them and have them be in the program." Big Rapids (16-1, 13-1) Newaygo (6-10, 6-8) Fremont 57 Central Montcalm 27 The game was called at 4;06 in the third quarter because of a bad injury to a CM player. Joshua Zerfas drove the length of the court and one of their players went up to block the shot,came down and had a compound fracture in his leg. Because of emotions running high it was agreed upon by everyone to end the game. Braiden McDonald began working on his second thousand as he finished with a game high 17 points while Jordon McDonald dropped a dozen, Martin Curiel hit for 11, and Payton Mansfield netted 9. Zerfas had another strong game at the point with 8 points, 8 assists and 7 steals. Central Montcalm (4-12, 3-10) Fremont (13-4, 12-2) White Cloud 63 Hesperia 18 Eleven players found their way into the scorebook for the Indians led by Alex Elder who finished with a game and season high 21points and Sam Venema who knocked down 12. Coach Jones: “ I’d like to send a big shout out to Coach Worcester and the young men from Hesperia. They always play with such heart and passion no matter the score.” WC (6-8, 4-6) Hesperia (0-13, 0-9) Lions Complete Gold Sweep; Pack Stung; 'Hawks Down Devils
Newaygo 36 Big Rapids 26 Newaygo led 17-4 at the half. Big Rapids made a spirited run and cut the lead to 6 late in the fourth but Newaygo was able to hold on. Jaxi Long and Emmerson Goodin led the Lions with 8 points apiece. Jaylee Long dished out 4 assists to go with her 7 points while Goodin took down 10 rebounds and Kayla Fisk grabbed another 8. Coach Thomasma: "Big Rapids is always tough on defense and they are a well coached team. To hold them to 4 points in the 1st half was a huge key. "Extremely proud of this whole team. All 8 of them worked hard since last year when we got shut down and it really showed this year. All 8 of them had their moments in helping us win the conference. It's a great accomplishment to go undefeated in this conference like we did this year and it's really a testament to how hard these girls have worked. “They earned it.” With conference title in hand the Lions move on to Sparta for tournament play. "We'll enjoy it tonight but we know now that everyone's record is 0-0 and that the postseason starts next week,” added Coach T. “ We have a district where every game is going to be tough." Big Rapids (12-5,10-4) Newaygo (15-1,14-0) Central Montcalm 52 Fremont 42 The Hornets took an 11-9 lead after one quarter and held a 28-20 edge by at the half. The Packers narrowed the gap to just 3 before CM slowed the game down and got to the free throw line where they were able to convert 12 of 14 shots and take a 38-32 advantage into the 4th. Missed shots and turnovers led to another Hornet run in the 4th that set the final score. Calla Miller led the Packer offensive attack with 17 points. Kaitlynn Bennett hit for 9 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Central Montcalm was led by Bailey Vissman's 13 points, while Bri Collins and Kamryn Nicholson each added 12. Coach Zerlaut -- "It was another night of frustration for the team, as they played hard, did a lot of things right, but just could not make shots in key situations. Our overall shot percentages were not bad tonight, but we couldn't put the ball in the basket on key possessions and situations, which allowed Central Montcalm to slow the game down in the second half, take time off the clock, and force us into fouling. Credit goes to them for taking control of the pace of the game once they had the lead and taking a lot of time off the clock on each possession in the fourth quarter." Central Montcalm (12-4, 11-3) at Fremont (5-12, 5-9) Morley Stanwood 48 Holton 27 The Red Devils kept it close for half a game staying with 6 of the Mohawks, but the second half saw the hosts come out of the locker room strong and they ran away from the visitors early in the third to secure the win. MS (9-5, 7-2) Holton (6-10, 2-6) White Cloud 50 Hesperia 42 Coach Grodus: “It was a hard fought game. The third quarter proved to be the decisive one.” The Cloud outscored their visitors by a 9 point margin after the break and while the Panthers made a couple of runs in the 4th they could not gain ground on the Indians. Emily Bayle the Panther scoring machine eclipsed a 50 year scoring mark surpassing the 1266 points tallied by Mike Clark in 1971. Her 17 point performance pushed her past Clark in the record books and with the tournament still looming Bayle has a chance to add to her 1268. Coach Brown: "With Alexis Strait being boxed on defense, we knew others would have to step up, and stepping up they did! Naomi Thompson scored a career high with 19 points and 4 steals. Cassie Watson had 7 rebounds, but more importantly held Emily Bayle to 4 second half points. Emily Hodges added 8 points and 4 rebounds. It was tough sledding for Alexis Strait but she still managed 18 points and 6 steals. It was a gritty performance by the Cloud who is still without Carsyn Scarlavai with an ankle sprain. " Emmi Tinkham knocked down a dozen points to go with her 10 boards and Rachel Romero finished with 8 points. White Cloud (8-7, 6-4) Hesperia (7-6, 3-6) By Ken De Laat Look for our tourney preview coming Sunday. Girls Chippewa Hills (2-14, 2-12) at Grant (4-11, 4-9) While the Tigers have struggled this year the Warriors have two wins, a narrow midseason victory over Reed City and Wednesday’s win over Beal City. The same Aggies that won their season opener against Chip Hills and haven’t won since. Neither team scores a lot but Grant had their highest output of the year the first time these squads met and won by nearly 30 points. And that was in Remus. Should provide some Mo for the Tigers as they head for a Monday tourney game against TC. Big Rapids (12-4,10-3) at Newaygo (14-1,13-0) A couple weeks ago this looked like it had the makings of a title match but that was before the Lions roared past the crowd and wrapped up an early championship. The Cards are a good team but they were no match for Newaygo on their home court and this time they’re playing in Lion Country and Goodin has been playing like a woman on a mission of late giving her teammates plenty of scoring opportunities when opponents seek to stop her. Central Montcalm (11-4, 10-3) at Fremont (5-11, 5-8) After having a 7 game winning streak (and any title hopes) dashed in a convincing fashion by Newaygo the Hornets regrouped,have peeled off three straight wins and are primed to head south for tourney play in Portland. The Packers have improved but they haven’t beaten anyone with a winning record yet, though they took a tough Sparta team to the buzzer earlier this week. Even so, this will be a tough W to get. They were within striking distance in their last contest with the Bees but fell apart in the final period. Miller would have to be on her game and Zerlaut’s defensive work will be vital but look for Jessica Bennett. She has developed a nice touch around the basket and fared well against CM first time around. Holton (6-10, 2-6) at Morley Stanwood (8-5, 6-2) Record aside the Devs are perhaps the most improved team in the area. Bossett has amped up her game and the future looks good with freshmen Robins and Fowler taking some first year Varsity lumps while gaining valuable court time. But MS is way good and making up for 37 points they lost by in the first go-round with the ‘Hawks is asking for a whole lot of improvement. Hesperia (7-5, 3-5) at White Cloud (7-7, 5-4) The Panthers have quietly put together a solid season including a 4-0 non conference record and are riding a 4 game win streak behind the tough trio of Bayle, Tinkham and Romero. We haven’t heard nor seen much of WC lately, but they have struggled offensively. Still, they took down the Panthers in the opener by holding them to 25 points. Of course Bayle poured in a cool 36 on her own in a game last week. There's that. Boys Chippewa Hills (3-12, 2-10) at Grant (7-9, 6-7) CH is another team better than their record. They hang around in most games but if opponents jump out and grab a double digit lead the floodgates open. The Tigers escaped with a win in Remus earlier this season on a Saturday afternoon as Schuitema and Burrows lit it up. This one's in Grant and Coach Schuitema would like to see a little Mo on the floor as they head for a third go-round with rival Newaygo on Tuesday. Big Rapids (15-1, 12-1) at Newaygo (6-9, 6-7) The only thing that stands between Big Rapids and an outright title is the Lions. Tall order for Newaygo to steal one from a team that has lost one game all season and that one by a single point. The Cards have scorers but it’s their defense that has won them games. A lot of games. Stephens, Mortenson and Decker will have their hands full and could use a bit of a hot hand from Long to stay in this one. Reed City hung the only loss on BR. They kept it close and caught a little lightning in a bottle at the end. The Lions will have a hard time recovering if they fall behind early because the Cards seem to find a second gear when they smell blood, but should they be able to stay within range, they have the shooters to pull off an upset Central Montcalm (4-11, 3-9) at Fremont (12-4, 11-2) Tougher than it looks for the Packers but if their offense is on we don’t think CM can score enough to keep up. The Hornets have been in most games and we’re still puzzled as to how they beat Morley, so Fremont can’t be looking ahead to tourney time. Besides they need a win to tie for the title in case Big Rapids stumbles at Newaygo. If you read our piece on Braiden McDonald getting to 1000 you may have noticed there were two sets of brothers who made the list of Packers who finished with four figures. Jordon McDonald may not make it to 1000, but he has the kind of smooth shot that will result in a lot of points before he graduates. Holton (12-5, 9-0) at Morley Stanwood (9-5, 8-1) The Red Devils have locked up a share of the Silver crown but a win over the Morley would give them the outright title their season deserves. Poling, Monette and Fialek will need to share the wealth since MS will go after the hot hand and if Brant could replicate the outside shooting that helped bring down the ‘Hawks in the opener we’re certain Coach Swanson wouldn’t mind a bit Hesperia (0-12, 0-8) at White Cloud (5-8, 3-6) To say it's been a tough season for the Panthers would be an understatement but Coach Worcester’s guys have put it all on the floor every game despite a season long winless streak. They lost the season opener against the Cloud by 40. We think they’ll get closer but the game is on the Indian home court and Venema, Reuther, Watson, Cox and the rest we get plenty of scoring opportunities with the Panthers yielding over 65 points a game. |
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