 By Ken DeLaat- N3 Sports
There exists some serious talent among the girls teams in our area and most of the players will be playing in local gyms beyond this season. One exception is Hannah Brown the senior from the Cloud who just set the school’s scoring record last week. The Gold is still a bunch of teams looking up at the Hornets but these are each good young squads so CM will have some challenges as they defend their title and try to get past districts this year. The Silver has Kent City and the Eagles have Kenzie Bowers who leads a talented team in quest of defending their title. In Fremont Coach Krim has a youthful team however the core of this team has Varsity experience thanks to a rash of injuries last season so the additions to the team will benefit from the leadership on the floor. Miller can rifle it in from outside and VandenBerg usually gives up height but never heart with her blue collar inside game. Jamieson does so many things well and Shriver is a gamer. Since a season opener win over Montague on December 4th the Packers have been on the road and Friday begins a home stand that will see them play 7 of the next 8 games in their own gym. Only thing is, they will face a Hornet team that hasn’t lost a regular season game this season or last. The Pack might have some struggles as evidenced by their two losses when they scored just 25 points, but the defense will keep them close in most games and my hunch is the offensive firepower of this team has yet to emerge. They might find CM a lot to handle but they will certainly win their share of games going forward. Newaygo is also young with Varsity experience. The Longs and Ruehmeier can do damage on the offensive end and Frisbie blankets opponents with her intense defensive play. The Lions game against White Cloud proved this team can win close ones and the next three games, beginning with a home contest against the BR Cardinals Friday, should give fans an idea of how good this team might be. Next week they will be traveling to Fremont and then Tri County two teams, like the Lions, off to a strong starts. Tri County had quite the run in the final year under Coach Overbeek and when he departed along with a bundle of seniors he left Bowen, Longstreet, Miller and Sickelsteel for the new Viking mentor Alyssa Alger Bowen is part of the wealth of talented underclassmen pounding the girls basketball courts this season and she is one of those players who tend to make their team better with an inspired and unselfish approach to the game. The Vikes will return to play Friday when they welcome in the Coyotes then next week Grant and Newayo also travel down Kendallville road to face TC. Grant has started the season 1-4 with each of those losses coming against quality teams with a collective record of 17-5. They almost ended the Hornet two season win streak in game 2 and lost a tough opener to the Cloud but the blowouts against Kent City and Sparta saw them buried early by shooting woes. The Tigers will welcome the Warriors of CH in Friday before taking on TC and Newaygo next week. These three games should give an indication of what the rest of the season will look like. White Cloud is featuring the farewell tour of one of the area's most prolific shooters as Brown continues to fill it up for the Indians while displaying strong defensive skills. Their last game was a battle royale as Brown, Schulz, Bowman, Strait,and Watson each contributed down the stretch only to fall short against the Lions. The Cloud will have a good season but they still haven’t been able to figure out Kent City. The Eagles seem to have had their number the past two years. The teams face off again the end of the month in White Cloud and the Indians play five winnable games before that rematch. WC doesn’t resume play until next Tuesday when they travel to Holton. Hesperia is 4-1 which is a good thing. Three of those wins were against teams with a collective 1-14 record, but they also handed Pentwater their only loss of the season against 4 wins. The Panthers resume play by hosting Lakeview on Friday. The Wildcats have won twice against teams that have yet to find a W this season. Four of Holton’s 5 losses have been by 25 points or more. The 5th loss was to Hesperia by a dozen the closest the Red Devils have gotten to an opponent. It looks to be a long season for Coach Baker’s squad.
0 Comments
 By Ken DeLaat- N3 Sports
It’s the dawn of a new year and tune up time is over as area teams enter into the heart of their basketball schedule. Reed City sits atop the Gold and the ‘Yotes have forged an impressive 5-1 mark including wins over Fremont and Grant. In the Silver, the Mohawks of MS (8-0) are rolling and dispatching opponents by an average of 25 points a game. Here is a quick synopsis of the season so far and a peek at what’s coming up. Tri County is struggling. Their lone win came against White Cloud and the Vikes have been outscored 245-100 in the last 3 games. Two games into a stretch of playing 9 of 10 games at home, their first 4 games after returning to action start with a Friday game against Reed City (5-1). Next week the Vikings face Grant (3-3), and Newaygo (4-1) before a visit to the Packers (5-1) in Fremont the following week. Coach McCorkle’s squad should be putting up a few more wins this season but unless they find some consistent offense they aren’t going to come easy. The good news is Grant has won all three of their home games. The bad news is they have lost all three of their road games. The team opens the new year at home against a Chip Hills squad that, like Grant, has won a trio of games over teams with more numbers in the L column than the W one. The Tigers are young and have some sharpshooters who can rain a flurry of three pointers when they get hot but, as we said, they are young. While there might be struggles ahead they will improve under the tutelage of Coach Schuitema and will be surprising some teams as the season goes on. In Newaygo the enigmatic Lions are a talented group who seem to play to the level of their competition. Their schedule hasn’t provided any huge challenges as yet and the loss to the Hornets is puzzling as was the surprisingly close game against a struggling Holton team at home. Their next two games should tell a lot about the team as they host Big Rapids Friday then go to Fremont next Tuesday to face the Packers where Swinehart and Brummel will face a major challenge on the glass. The Packers are good. Coach Zerfas enjoys a deep bench, a couple of rebounding machines, several scoring threats from inside and out and stifling defense play with guards providing pressure while Karnemaat and Miller swat away inside attempts. Fremont looks to be a force to be reckoned with in the Gold. And yet, there is that loss to Reed City. Are the Coyotes who downed the Pack by a dozen in game 3 that good? Granted their home court is a nightmare for opponents so the game in late January back in the friendly confines of FHS might play out a bit different. The Hornets buzz into town Friday before the Packers host Newaygo and visit Grant next week. White Cloud has won one game and are yielding 60 points a game while tallying just over 40. Thankfully they shook off a miserable two game scoring drought (24 pts a game) with the win over Hesperia and a respectable showing against a strong Newaygo team. They resume Silver play with a road game Friday against the Red Devils who also have one win, also over Hesperia, and also by an identical 55-39 score. Should be an interesting game. The following week pits them against the Wildcats of Walkerville who have embarked on what looks to be a fun ride for their fans and conference leader Morley Stanwood (8-0) who has been blowing teams out of the gym. Coach Jones and his team will have their hands full. Give Hesperia credit for having plenty of heart. Each game they take to the floor undersized, undermanned and if foul trouble or injuries occur like a recent game against Hart, they are forced to finish with less than 5 players. Coach Bolles and his Panther squad will face a lot of challenges this season to be sure, but one predicament facing most coaches won’t be an issue here. Playing time. When Holton took a shellacking against Sparta to open the season they were coming off a magical football playoff run that resulted in some nagging injuries and a lack of practice time for many of the Red Devils. Since that game they beat Hesperia then lost 3 in a row, albeit to teams with just 2 losses in 21 games. The Devils will right the ship as they did in football and none of the teams they face in January have a winning record thus far, though a tough Kent City team is part of that group. Their district tournament counterparts are 4 teams with a total of 4 wins among them and three of those belong to district host Hart. Should they be healthy and ready once postseason play starts could there be another tournament run in the cards for the Devils?  Competing in the Central Montcalm Invitational the Packers wrestled their way into the final round of a tournament for the third straight time knocking off three opponents along the way. The title match saw them go up against the top team in Division 2 as the Red Arrows of Lowell halted the Fremont run with a 49-21 win.
Before reaching the finals the Pack defeated the hst Hornets 57-24, conference rival Newaygo 78-6 and Cedar Springs 57-19 Chase Knudsen, Kyler Kolk and Chaz Wheater went undefeated on the day (4-0) and Austin Kukal finished 4-1. Picking up three wins were Gage Breuker, Matt Halasinski, Jager Kibart, Cody Routley, RJ Thome, Dennis Halasinski and William Peterson while Eli Beasley, Trey Breuker, Caden Christoffersen, Matt Long, Gage Montague and Eric Lindestag each won two. The Packers are now 15-3 on the season.  Alexis Strait and Olivia Bowman look to corral Sophie Frisbie as Lily Ruehmeier comes in to help. By Ken DeLaat Newaygo 48 White Cloud 45 It was a classic matchup between two talented teams. One was led by senior sharpshooter Hannah Brown the lethal offensive weapon putting the finishing touches on a fine four year varsity career. The Cloud was playing at home and Brown was a basket away from becoming the school’s all time leading scorer. Their visitors featured a young group of cagers as junior Sophie Frisbie was joined by three sophomores and a freshman at tip-off time however, two of those sophomores were Varsity veterans Jaylee Long and Lillian Ruehmeier. It was the annual Hoops for Hope game when players and coaches choose someone they know who has been touched by cancer to honor in a pre game ceremony. And then the game began. These two schools have a lengthy tradition of putting on highly competitive and highly entertaining games. Prior to the varsity game the JV’s warmed the crowd up with a battle to the finish that saw a number of heroics down the stretch. It looked like the Lions might have the game in hand when Haleigh Schmitt dropped in one from the stripe to give the Lions the one pont edge with a time winding down. That was before the ball found the hands of Elizabeth Campeau who launched one from the top of the key and sent it home with 3 seconds left to give White Cloud a 36-34 win. The came the main event. The teams measured each other the first couple of minutes before Frisbie shot a pass to Ruehmeier who opened the scoring. Brown quickly answered with a bucket and time was called as her basket inched her ahead of Teresa Harvatich as the all-time leading scorer in White Cloud Girls Basketball. Ms. Harvavith had held the record since 1982 the same year she hit a crucial bucket and one to send White Cloud to the state finals. But I digress. Jaxi Long drew a foul and drained a pair then sister Jaylee found Ruehmeier who scored her second of the evening and it was 6-2 Lions. Fouls brought Hallie Schulz to the line where she split a pair followed by Cassie Watson who knocked both down and it was 6-5. Jaylee Long put the Lions up 3 then the Cloud took the air out of the ball killing time in a semi stall before Brown zipped a pass to Olivia Bowman who banged it home from beyond to knot the game at 8 after one. After another Ruehmeier basket to start the 2nd Watson and Schulz each split and when Schulz scored off a rebound the Indians had their first lead at 12-10. Jaylee Long scored off a steal for the tie but the hosts chipped away and when Jami Perrin found the net for a triple the Indian lead had climbed to 6. Newaygo fought back as three straight Lion buckets tied it before Brown who had been held scoreless since her record setting shot early in the first quarter rang home a triple that was answered by an Emmerson Goodin bucket and the teams headed to the locker room with the Cloud clinging to a one point adge. Brown tripled again to start the second half and stake a 25-21 lead before an 11-2 run led by the Long sisters put the Lions up by 5. Jaylee Long seemed to be everywhere scoring 7 including a three while Jaxi Long stole the ball and scored twice and the quarter ended with the visitors in charge by 7. The 4th began with Schulz hitting a basket and adding a free throw then once again it was Brown from downtown and the lead was whittled to 2. Each time the Cloud made a run the Lions held them off with a key shot. When Alexis Strait split at the line to make it a 3 point game with a minute remaining the Indians needed to get the ball back. They managed a stop and were able to get off a potential game tying try but the shot didn’t fall and the Lions took home the win. "This was a typical White Cloud/Newaygo game,” said Lion Coach Nate Thomasma “It was a fast paced and physical. Both teams played a good ball game." "Extremely proud of my team tonight. They held their composure and made the plays at the right moment.” Brown hit for a game high 20 points and has now tallied 1,274 in a stellar career. She also collected 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Schulz dropped in 11 points, hauling down 8 boards and Watson took 10 off the glass while adding 5 points. Jaylee Long was masterful on both ends scoring 16 and dishing out 3 assists while creating opportunities on defense. Sophie Frisbie blanketed Brown much of the first half with her aggressive defensive play and Jaxi Long fired in 15 points and pilfered 5 steals. Ruehmeier played an outstanding game as she rejected a half dozen Indian shots, canned 8 crucial points and pulled in 5 boards as well. The Lions (3-1, 1-1) will resume conference play after the holidays hosting Big Rapids on January 4th, White Cloud (3-2, 1-1) will also return to conference competition on the 4th when they travel to Holton. Photos and story by Alexis Mercer The White Cloud Indians traveled to Newaygo to face off on Tuesday, December 18. While the Indians persisted and hung around throughout the entire game, scoring the same number of baskets in the 2nd and 3rd quarter, they couldn't overcome Newaygo's surge at the start of the game and the final push in the 4th quarter. A rotating five for the Lions led to the 63-47 win over the Indians. Swinehart ended with 21 points and 8 rebounds for Newaygo.   Girls-Curnett Connects, Bees Too Much For Lions Boys: ‘W’ Goes To Cloud: Packers Clip Cards, Lions Fall Short Girls Fremont 53 Big Rapids 46 The Packers held a 3 point advantage over the Cards with just over a minute left on the clock when Avery Curnett launched one from beyond the arc and found nothing but net. The triple gave the visitors the breathing room they needed to keep BR at bay and secure the conference win. The game saw the lead exchange hands several times with the Cardinals inching ahead by 2 heading into the final frame. The Packers ran off 2 points in the quarter led by Natalie Jamieson who drained 10 of her team high 14 points down the stretch. In a balanced scoring attack Calla Miller hit for 11 Chloe Shriver dropped in 10,Paige Vandenberg finished with 9. Vandenberg also rejected a quartet of Cardinal shots and pulled down 9 boards. Curnett finished with 7 points and Jamieson nabbed a half dozen steals. The Packers (3-1, 2-0) hit the road again Tuesday traveling to Ludington to take on the Orioles (3-1) Central Montcalm: 60 Newaygo: 47 The Lions battled a tough Hornet team on the road but the hosts pulled away in the fourth to secure the conference win. Jaxi Long led Newaygo with 22 points and 5 rebounds while Jaylee Long added 13 points and 4 assists. Newaygo (2-1, 1-1) will head north to take on long time rival White Cloud (3-1) on Wednesday Grant 41 Reed City 40 Tri County 40 Chippewa Hills 35 Morley Stanwood 49 Holton 28 Boys Fremont 54 Big Rapids 44 In what Coach Pete Zerfas called a very physical game the Packers took a 10 point led into the fourth before holding off a late Cardinal charge to capture a key conference game. Carter Moon and Logan Karnemaat iced the game late at the charity stripe with Moon dropping 5 and Karnemaat hitting a pair. Moon led the team with 15 points while Karnemaat took a doen boards down to go with his dozen points. It was the first win for Fremont at the Cardinal nest in 5 years. The Packers (5-1, 1-1) will resume conference play on January 4th when they host Central Montcalm. Central Montcalm 67 Newaygo 64 The Lions built an 8 point lead by intermission but the Hornets came out of the locker room fired up and hitting shots while the Lion offense caught a chill. The hosts pulled ahead by 3 going into the 4th and held back Newaygo to take the conference contest. "The tougher more physical team won tonight," said Lion Coach Joe Barrette. Connor Swinehart led the visitors with 22 points and 10 boards while Kade Bhuyan dropped in 14 and grabbed a half dozen steals. White Cloud 55 Hesperia 39 One team was going to come away from this contest with win number one and at buzzers end it went to the Cloud. “Proud of these young men,” said Coach Bob Jones. “The entire team contributed to this win.” The Indians jumped out to a 9 point lead after one and built it to a dozen by the half. Steven Holt led the way with 22 points while Sam Venema hit for 15 and Jake Foster added 9. The Panthers were led by Jacob Klemundt who poured in a game high 18 points and Jonathan Castillo who added a solid 11... The Panthers fall to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the CSAA Silver... The Panthers (0-5, 0-2) will visit Walkerville (4-1) on Monday evening while White Cloud (1-5, 1-1) travels to Newaygo on Tuesday. Reed City 56 Grant 42 The Tigers held a 4 point lead at intermission with the Coyote offense struggling to find the basket. Then came the second half. The hosts came alive pouring in 22 points in the third and another 20 in the fourth to pull away from the Tigers and take the conference win. Seth Schuitema led Grant with 11 while Brett Long hit for 9. Robert Rose finished with 8 with Carter Chase and Connor Vanderwilt notched 7 apiece. Grant (3-2, 1-1) will visit Sparta (4-1) on Tuesday. Chippewa Hills 69 Tri County 58  Photo By Alicia Jaimes  From Coach Thomas Elmer
Wednesday December 12 Today the boys bowled West Michigan Christian and earned their fourth win of the season. It was a team effort with Isaac Callison, Shawn Murphy, Tyler Holmes, Ethan Dekryger, Ethan Dekryger, and Gavin Hanes contributing to the victory. The boys started very rough missing a lot of spares, and falling by 9 pins in the first baker game 117-126 but picked up the effort in the second baker game winning that 166-130 taking a 6-4 lead into the regular games. The boys would leave a few pins out there but only gave away two points the rest of the way winning 4 out of 5 matches each game the first game went 886-675 with Shawn Murphy going 212-150, Isaac Callison going 165-193, Gavin Hanes 157-102, Ethan Tedford 170-106 and rounding out the first game Ethan Dekryger 182-124. The second game the guys improved and really gave maximum effort in every shot winning the second game 926-649 scores were Tyler Holmes 210-109 the second spot gave us fits again Gavin Hanes could not get much carry losing a tight one 163-169, Shawn Murphy 218-137, Ethan Tedford 181-89 and to round out the night a 154-145 match win by Ethan Dekryger and a 24-6 win. That is four straight wins to start the year good job guys! Monday December 10 The girls had one heck of a match today. They jumped out to a 10-0 lead after baker games winning 108-79 and 179-109. They would end up losing a tight match in the first regular game by 3 pins, 619-621 taking 2 individual points, a split game between Jess Petry and Katie Davis 69-76, Maria Lomas picked up at point 145-135, Haleigh Johnson went 116-134, the next point came with Haylea Bazinau 140-109, and Katelynne Michelle going 148-167. Making the score 12-7, all the girls need was 4 points to secure the match unfortunately they were unable to collect the points needed to win the match with a 512-572 second game with Isabel Grace Marie Feyen going 80-87, Maria L. 92-114, Haleigh J. 83-128, Heylee B. winning again for 2 points on the night 137-122 rounding out the night Katelynne M losing by a pin 120-121. The boys left a lot of pins out there but were able to notch their 3rd consecutive match of the season! They would start by missing some late spares in the first game, losing by six pins 168-174, they would come back and win the second baker game and total 173-116 for a 6-4 lead in the match. The boys would all but put the match away taking 9 points after a 881-730 win in the first regular game, with all of the guys taking they points, Tyler Holmes 192-145, Shawn Murphy 165-143, Isaac Callison Came back and won a hard fought match 133-126, Ethan Tedford 190-146 and Ethan Dekryger rounding up the scoring 201-170. The boys would give up 3 points in the last match but still winning the game 776-690 and taking total. Gavin Hanes would go 144-153, Shawn Murphy would take his second point 193-106, Tyler Holmes picked up his second point winning 145-109, round out the scores were Ethan Tedford 147-141, and Ethan Dekryger 167-181 for a 23-7 win! Saturday December 8th The boys started the season today with 2 wins coming in very different ways. The first match of the day pitted the team vs Tri-County after coming away with a 4-pin win 166-162 to take a 4-point lead Tri-County would come back though after to win by 29, 110-139 to take a 6-4 match lead. The guys would take at 11-8 lead after taking 3 individual points and the 1st series total. Shawn Murphy won his 1st singles match 146-141, a combined game from Tyler Holmes and Isaac Callison of 121-141, Gavin Hanes picked up another point winning is match 144-117, Ethan DeKryger came up a little short 166-174, with the final point coming from Ethan Tedford winning his match 177-139 and giving us a 42-point series lead 754-712 giving us another 4 points. The boys would battle picking up some big spares late to take another 8 points to win the match 19-11. Shawn M. would go 140-148, Isaac C. went 139-148, Gavin Hanes would take a point 146-125, Ethan T. would lose a close match 188-184, Ethan D. would take his point 156-150 the boys would take total by 6 pins 765-759, which would give us the combined total for 2 points for our 19-11 win, first of the season. The second match of the day versus Big Rapids we bowled a better than the first not giving up a single point. We would win both baker games 134-74 and 189-60. The first game saw Tyler H. 127-106, Isaac C. 169-51, Gavin H. 140-86, Ethan D. 167-60, and Ethan T. 178-64 taking all the individual points and total 781-417. The second game Shawn M. 145-110, Tyler. H. 145-51, Isaac C. 214-86, Ethan T. 134-53 and Ethan D. 182-112. Taking the second series 796-412 taking total winning the match 30-0. The girls started the season with a win and then fall in the second match. The first match saw the girls jump out to a 10-0 lead on Tri-County winning both baker games 118-89 followed by 11-67. The girls would take the win after the first regular game taking the 6 points needed for the win, winning total 757-740. Jess Petry and Katie Davis would combine for a 105-107, Maria Lomas would roll a 76-95, Haleigh Johnson would go 99-121, the first point would be taken by Haylea Bazinau 142-139, and Katelynn Gerth would also get a point 140-122 making the score 16-3. The girls would gain 4 more points after the second regular game losing total 494-498 but still taking the 2 points in combined. Isabell Feyen would take her game 93-68, Jess P. would go 57-84, Haleigh J. would go 100-104m Haylea B. would claim her second win of the day 127-102 and Katelynn G. would round out the match 117-140. Big Rapids would do what the girls did to Tri-County taking both baker games and a 10-0 lead, with scores of 107-143 and 103-111. The girls would come out and get seven points in the first regular game winning total 629-553. Katie D. went 68-91 Maria L. would take her match, 107-59, Haleigh J. would also win her match 158-113, Haylea B. would pick up her 3rd point on the day 189-149, with Katelynn G. round up the 1st game 107-141 making the score 7-12. The girls would battle in the last regular game losing 568-609 taking total for 2 points, but in the individual games we just came up short in a lot of close matched, Isabell F. 104-120, Maria L. 95-124, Haleigh J. 95-133, Haylea B. would take her 4th point of the day with a 146-104 win, and Katelynn G. would add another win 128-110. The girls would fall short 11-19. Boys
Newaygo 62 Holton 58 The Red Devils gave the Lions all they could handle battling throughout the game before coming up short in this cross conference clash. Connor Swinehart led all scorers hitting for 27 points while shooting 11-13 from the field and pulled down 7 boards. Kade Bhuyan finished with 15 points while dishing out 5 assists and Ryan Brummel dropped in an even dozen. Aaron Herron ripped the nets for 18 points to lead Holton (1-2, 0-1). The Lions (3-0, 1-0) return to conference play Friday when they travel to Stanton to face Central Montcalm (1-3, 0-1) Fremont 55 Sparta 49 The Pack handed the Spartans their first loss of the season as they built a big lead then hung on to secure the win. Chris Kennedy fired in a pair of triples in the first quarter to help stake the hosts to a 14-10 edge that was whittled down to a single digit advantage at the break. Coming out of intermission the Packer starters caught fire and built a 15 point lead by the end of the third with Joshua Zerfas canning a three pointer then stealing the inbounds pass and scoring before the buzzer. “Then the wheels came off,” said Coach Pete Zerfas. “We started making horrible passes, not rebounding and the momentum turned and with 2:45 to go the game was tied. I haven't seen many teams in my 19 years coaching that could give up that big of a lead and still hold their composure to complete the win. After a timeout we came down the court and ran our offense and got multiple stops and built the lead back up to 6 with 1:30 to go. “ Logan Karnemaat scored 5 down the stretch, Carter Moon made 4 free throws and Calvin Miller scored 6 in the quarter including 4 straight free throws under a minute to go. Braiden McDonald led us with 12 points, Calvin Miller had 11 points, Logan Karnemaat had 10 points and 7 blocks. The Packers (4-1, 0-1) play their third game of the week this Friday when the recume conference play at Big Rapids (0-2, 0-0). Hart 59 Hesperia 32 When the 5 Panther players took to the court in their matchup with the Pirates, Coach Doug Bolles didn’t have to think about substitutions. He didn’t have any. Playing without a bench the Hesperia team battled as best they could before falling to the visitors from Hart. When junior Kaiden Robbins fouled out halfway through the third the Panthers played on with just four on the floor. ““We put up a valiant fight and I’m proud of my guys for their heart and effort, said Coach Bolles. “ Hart was just better than us tonight and their depth wore on us, as well as being short handed.” The Panthers were led by senior Johnny Segura who hit for 10 points and Jacob Klemundt who finished with 7. The Panthers (0-4, 0-1) will travel east Friday to face White Cloud (0-5, 0-1). Kent City 68 Grant 49 Girls Sparta 38 Fremont 25 “We played very well defensively but really struggled to find the bottom of the net.,” said Coach John Krim after the Packers fell to the Spartans in a non conference tilt. ”Down by 8 at halftime, we hit 2 3 pointers ( both by Paige Vandenberg)in the first 2-minutes of the 3rd to cut the lead to 4 but just couldn't get much else to fall the rest of the quarter except for a Calla Miller 3. We held our own on the defensive side of the ball holding Sparta to 8 and cutting into their lead. The 4th quarter we held them to one field goal but just couldn't score ourselves and they closed out the game with 6 straight free throws.” Miller and Vandenberg each finished with 6 points. Fremont (2-1, 1-0) will travel to Big Rapids (0-1, 0-0) Friday the third of a 5 game stretch away from home. White Cloud 48 Reed City 28 The Cloud showed hometown fans a little of what they can expect to see on the court this season as they put their high octane offense on display in a cross conference win over the Coyotes. Sharpshooter Hannah Brown delivered a game high 21 points while grabbing a pair of steals and taking down 4 boards while Alexis Strait provided some defensive wizardry with 8 steals to go with her 5 rebounds and added 14 points to the score on the offensive end. Despite yielding a size advantage to he Coyote counterparts Cassie Watson helped hold the Reed City front court to 9 points with her high energy defensive play. And Hallie Schultz dropped in 9 points while collecting 4 off the glass. White Cloud (2-1, 0-1) will play at home again Thursday night when they face Hesperia (2-0, 1-0). Kent City 71 Grant 25 Fremont 69 Montague 58
The Packers shook off their first loss of the season and rebounded with a home court win over a tough Montague squad. The visitors inched into an early lead before the Packers fired off a 13-0 run to take the lead they would hold the rest of the night. Trailing by 15 at the break the Wildcats clawed their way back into the game in the 3rd pulling to within a half dozen points before the Packers pushed it back to 9 by quarter’s end and kept the Cats at bay in the final frame. “The second half we were very sluggish,” said Coach Pete Zerfas. “Julian Echavarria gave us energy off the bench late scoring 6 points in the last 3 minutes of the game to keep it over 10.” Logan Karnemaat led a quartet of Packers reaching double figures as he dropped in a game high 19. Carter Moon hit for 13, Calvin Miller knocked down 11 and sophomore Braiden McDonald popped in 10. Karnemaat and Miller shared board honors with each pulling down 10. Karnemaat also swatted away 5 Wildcat attempts on the night. Fremont (3-1)will host Sparta (3-0) on Tuesday. The Spartans dismantled Holton in their last contest 71-9. Mason County Central 49 White Cloud 27 The Cloud dropped their 5th straight in a loss to the Spartans. “Offensive woes continue to plague us,” said Coach Bob Jones. “Seems if there is a lid on the rim right now. We’re getting good looks they’re just not falling.” The Indians (0-5) will host Hesperia (0-3) Friday when one of the schools will emerge with win number one on the season.  Photo by Alicia Jaimes Schuitema, Carter lead Tigers to third straight; Swinehart, Brummel pace Newaygo; Devils get 26 from Slowik Girls Newaygo 66 Chippewa Hills 45 The Lions fired off their second straight win to open the season by knocking off the visiting Warriors in the conference opener for both teams. "It was a physical, fast paced game," said Coach Nate Thomasma. “Both teams scrapped pretty well. "We were able to outscore them by a few points every quarter to gradually pull away.” Jaxi Long ripped the nets for 20 points while Jaylee Long knocked down 17 and Lily Ruehemeier hit for 10. Ruehemeier led the team on the glass finishing with 5 boards and Jaylee Long dished out a quartet of assists for the Lions, Sophie Frisbie put some defensive wizardry on display pilfering Warrior players for 5 steals Hesperia 57 Holton 45 Kent City 64 White Cloud 21 Fremont 37 Reed City 19 Newaygo photos by Alexis Mercer and Bella Boys
Holton 55 Hesperia 39 The Red Devils started out hot from the three point line, hitting five triples in the first quarter and staking themselves to a 14 point lead.By halftime Holton held a 23 point advantage. The hosts struggled with scoring for the third straight game to start the season, but finally broke out with 21 fourth quarter points with a more aggressive defense that led to some scoring opportunities and also put the Panthers on the free throw line where they went 17/25 on the night including hitting on 9 of 11 in the fourth. Nate Slowik led all scorers as he drained 26 points for the Devils , followed by Aiden Poling who finished with 10. The Panthers were led by Logan Balkema with 15 points (6/8 free throws) and 8 rebounds and Jacob Klemundt with 11 points (6/7 free throws)... The Panthers fall to 0-3 overall, 0-1 in the CSAA Silver. They will host Hart on Tuesday. Newaygo 77 Chippewa Hills 66 The Lions built a 9 point edge after one then held back a game Warrior squad to win their home and conference opener. The hosts finished with four players in double figures ked by Connor Swinhart (21) and Ryan Brummel (20). Noah Cantu popped in 15 points and Francisco Rios hit for 13. Brummel and Swinehart polished up the glass for the Lions with 7 rebounds apiece. “Happy to get a win in front of our home crowd tonight,” said Lion Coach Joe Barrette. “We didn't always play well, but we played with great effort.” Newaygo (2-0, 1-0) will host the Red Devils of Holton on Tuesday. Grant 64 Central Montcalm 49 The Tigers blitzed the visiting Hornets in the opening frame running to a 19-4 lead that propelled them to the win in the conference opener for both teams. The 3-0 Tigers were led in scoring by Seth Schuitema who poured in 11 of his game high 24 points in the fourth quarter as CM tried to make a run to climb back into contention. Carter Chase knocked down 18 including aceing 10 of 11 from the charity stripe and Conner VanderWilt hit for an even dozen. The Tigers hit the road for the rest of the year (three games) beginning with a cross conference tilt at Kent City on Tuesday. Reed City 61 Fremont 49 |
Archives
October 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed