 The Packer Express giving some recognition to their hot handed teammate Clemence explodes for 40
The Packers continue to roll as they notched their 5th straight win behind an impressive night of shooting by Mia Clemence who dropped an even 40 on the visiting Spartans. Coach Zerfas: “We were down 15-14 after the first quarter, but made an adjustment to our press in the huddle and that, combined with our pressure and pace, was the difference.” The Packers shot past the Spartans with a 21-8 second and widened the lead throughout the second half. Shattering the previous school record of 36, Clemence fired in 6 from distance, added 10 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. Taylor DeKuiper canned 8 and matched that number in steals while delivering 7 assists and Brynna Barnhart scored 7 points to go with her 7 boards. All 10 Packers got into the book with points and/or rebounds. Fremont (2-0, 5-1) goes on the road to Orchard View Friday to resume Lakes Division play against the Cardinals.
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 White Cloud captures another Holton Holiday Tourney
White Cloud 43 Wellspring 37 The Cloud took the title at the Holton Holiday Tourney holding off the Wolves of Wellspring for their second win in two days. Freshman Brady Strait put the game away at the end going 4-6 from the free throw line . Coach Jones: “We led wire to wire. We didn't shoot the ball extremely well tonight, but were very happy to defend our title for the second year in a row. We played another great game on the defensive side and rebounded really well.“ Coleson Cruzan knocked down a game high 17 points while Jayden Robinson dropped in an even dozen and David Higgs hit for 8. White Cloud (1-1, 6-2) returns to action on January 6 when they travel to Custer to face the Cardinals of Mason County Eastern.  Vincent leads potent offensive attack Photos by Brent Foondle White Cloud 52 Muskegon Catholic 39 Playing shorthanded a day after facing a tough Holton squad the Cloud rallied the troops and posted a win in the Holton Holiday Tournament. Led by Andi Vincent who canned 7 from beyond the arc on her way to a game high (and career high) 28 points. WC took an early lead and held a 28-19 edge at intermission. In the second half they held off the Crusaders and secured their second win of the season Coach Wilk: “The quick turnaround was good for us. I challenged the girls to go out and play with everything they had. With missing two of our starters we needed all eight players to step up, and they did. “We were lacking a lot of size today but Addyson Cook had a great game and scored 11 points in the post for us, and her fellow front court member Isabella Shockley had a big day making passes and playing good defense” Brooklyn Foondle also hit double figures hitting for 11 points. White Cloud will return to the court on January 10 when they resume White Division play by hosting the Eagles of Kent City.
 WC playing for some hardware Saturday Photos by Brent Foondle White Cloud opened play at the Holton tournament with a win over the Panthers. The Cloud took control early to go up 27-10 after one and hit halftime with a 45-17 advantage. Coach Jones: “The shots were falling tonight as we went 10-14 from beyond the arc. We got some much needed playing time for our bench.” Coleson Cruzan led the scoring parade dropping 16 points while Jayden Robinson and Brady Strait each knocked down 14. Jacob Zimmer added 8 points, Kaleeb Canning canned 6 and David Higgs finished with 5. White Cloud will face Wellspring Prep in the tournament final at 4:30 Saturday
 WC to face MCC, RDs take on Vikes Photos by Brent Foondle Holton 38 White Cloud 22 The Holton Holiday Tournament got under way Friday as the Red Devils overcame a slow start to race past White Cloud. The visitors took a 5-3 lead after one but Holton found the range in the second outscoring the Cloud 14-5 to take a 7 point lead into intermission. Coach Wilk: “ We had too many turnovers and missed too many shots near the rim. Holton was more aggressive attacking the hoop. They shot 26 free throws, and we only attempted 10 shots from the line.” The Devils win puts them into the finals Saturday afternoon when they face the Vikings of Whitehall who defeated Muskegon Catholic Central. White Cloud/MCC will tip off at 1.30pm in the consolation game. Coach Jordan: “Really proud of the girls tonight, at tip off we were down 5 girls from an 11 girl roster due to vacation and illness, so wasn't sure what to expect tonight as we pulled up several freshman from the JV team so we would at least have 8 on the bench to start.At one point in the night we had 4 freshman out there at once so that was kind of cool to see.” Andi Vincent once again paced the scoring for White Cloud banging home 8 points.
Boys, girls teams fall on the road Photos by Brent Foondle Boys Lakeview 41 White Cloud 38 After a pair of wins, visiting White Cloud hit another scoring drought and lost the White Division battle with Lakeview. Coach Jones: “Our offensive struggles again reared its ugly head again tonight. We missed a lot of wide open shots. We fought our way back from a double digit deficit again tonight to tie up the game, but just couldn't manage to take the lead in the last minute.” Jayden Robinson led the way with a game-high 16 points while Coleson Cruzan also hit double figures with 10. Brady Strait scored 6 and David Higgs finished with 5. White Cloud (1-1, 4-2) will face Hesperia in the Holton Holiday Tourney on Friday at 3pm. Girls Lakeview 38 White Cloud 28 Coach Wilk: “Tonight we lost a game I know our team could win. We lacked the energy and focus needed to win. We were leading at halftime 18 to 15, and we were leading 25 to 23 to start the fourth. In the fourth they made some very easy buckets, and we didn't take care of the ball. The potential is there with this group, but they need to realize it and understand what it is going to take to reach that next level. After tonight I think they want to take their game to the next level.” Payten Bird paced the visitors with 8 points and Brooklyn Foondle added 7. White Cloud (0-2, 1-4) will play Friday at Noon at the Holton Holiday Tourney.
 Boys, girls capture pre-break wins.
Boys Newaygo 58 Tri County 51 The Lions picked up the Red Division win over a determined Viking squad. TC got out in front early taking a 6 point lead early in the second quarter but the hosts fired back and pulled even at 23 by intermission. The third saw a back and forth lead but in the final frame the Lions pulled away and secured the win. Coach Long: “The whole team played hard, rebounded the ball, and made free throws down the stretch.” Leading the Lions in scoring were Isaiah Miedema and Ethan Reyburn who each dropped a dozen while Blake Kerr knocked down 11 and Blake Sanborn hit for 8. Newaygo (2-1, 4-3) on Jan.7 when they will host Montague. Girls Newaygo 54 Tri-County 18 The Lions will head to the break with another division win under wraps as they ran away from the Vikings going up 22-5 after one and 44-7 by halftime. "Good win for the girls going into Christmas Break. I didn't like the way we started the game but the girls picked up the intensity and things got better. TC was shorthanded and down two starters and they played hard throughout the game. We need to continue to tighten things up over break and try to stay sharp. We don't have another game for three weeks." Gabby Arney led the Lions with 15 points, 7 steals and 5 rebounds. Kija Schultz finished with 11 points, 4 steals and 4 rebounds while Lilly Holmes took down a team high 11 boards while adding 9 points. Newaygo (3-0, 6-1) returns with a road game against Division co-leader Big Rapids on January 11.
Photos by Brent Foondle Newaygo 52 Lakeview 28 After edging in front 7-5 after one the Lion offense kicked into gear tossing 23 points in the bucket and holding the Wildcats to 4. The halftime lead held up as the Lions cruised to their 5th straight win. Coach Thomasma: "The second quarter was one of those quarters where everything we put up went in and we just built off of that. The girls played great defense and it turned into a good offense for us." Gabby Arney paced the Lions with 13 points, 4 steals and 3 rebounds. Lillian Holmes posted a double double grabbing 10 boards to go with her 10 points and rejected a couple of Lakeview attempts for good measure. Morgan Andres hit for 8 points and Kija Schultz finished with 7. Newaygo (2-0, 5-1) returns to Red Division play when they host Tri County on Friday. White Cloud 51 Tri County 39 White Cloud went on the road and found their offense posting their first win of the young season in a cross conference matchup with the Vikings. The visitors took the lead early and hit the locker room holding a 21-10 edge. Coach Wilk: “ At halftime we talked about keeping our foot on the gas, so that we could put them away in the third quarter. We did extend our lead by four more points in the third, so we started the fourth up 35 to 20. In the fourth quarter we let off the gas, and they made it a fight to the end. Luckily for us we learned a lesson without taking a loss with it. At this level you have to play all four quarters. “We still have a long way to go, but I am seeing improvements. Tonight we rebounded very well, and we went 15 for 22 from the charity stripe.” Andi Vincent dropped in a new career high of 21 points to lead the Cloud while . Payten Bird collected a double double (12 points, 10 rebounds), and Courtney Coon added 8 points.. Addyson Cook came off the bench and ruled the glass as she took down a dozen boards. White Cloud (0-1, 1-3) will get the chance to even their Red Division record Friday when they visit Lakeview. Kent City 59 Grant 51 The good news was the Tigers offense cut loose with their highest output of the season. The bad news? It wasn’t enough as visiting Kent City out scored their hosts and came away with the win. The Eagles took a 9 point lead at the half then held back the Tigers in the second half.. Alexa Obenauf scored 14 to pace the Tiger attack. Grant (1-1, 2-3) will host Cedar Springs on Friday. 
Grant/KC photos by Amanda Louck-Booth WC/TC photos by Bobbie Cruzan Grant 60, Kent City 51 The Tigers are on a roll as they extended their winning streak to 5 in a road win over Kent City. Once again the Grant defense kept the Eagles contained for much of the contest. Kent City is the first team to score 50 on the Tigers this season. Ethan DeLong fired in 22 points to lead the Grant offense. Coach Dan George: "A Win is a Win. Kent City played hard and hit some head scratching shots including two three pointers that banked in, but we had just enough to pull out the victory." Grant (2-0, 5-0) will return to action on Saturday January 4th when they pay a visit to Shelby.
White Cloud 51 Tri County 48 Once again the Cloud went down to the wire and managed to pull out a hard fought victory over the visiting Vikings. Each of their four wins have been nailbiters with winning margins of 1,2,3,and 4 points. Coach Jones: “Offensively we continue to improve with every game and our defense had a few mistakes tonight but we held our fifth opponent in the forties.” Jayden Robinson erupted for 23points, while Coleson Cruzan knocked down 13, David Higgs hit for 9 and Jacob Zimmer finished with 6. Reece Hewitt, Caleb Canning and Brady Strait also contributed to the win with timely steals, rebounding and hustling for loose balls. White Cloud (1-0, 4-1) returns to White Division play Friday when they travel to Lakeview to take on the Wildcats. Newaygo 74 Lakeview 43 The Lions got back on a winning track as they blew open a 9 point halftime lead with a 20-5 run to take control of the game and run away from the Wildcats. Hunter Yearsovich and Blake Kerr each dropped 16 on the ‘Cats with Russell Toth and Ethan Reburn hitting for 13 apiece. Newaygo (1-1, 3-3) will host Tri County Friday in a Red Division matchup. Oakridge 80 Fremont 56 The Packers found their groove in the second quarter outsourcing the Eagles 21-10, and hitting intermission down just a point. But it wasn’t enough. Oakridge took control early in the 3rd and ran away from the hosts sending Fremont to their 5th straight loss. Reddick Powell led the Pack putting up 22 points to go with his 5 boards. Carter Sherman led Fremont on the glass with 7 rebounds while scoring 5 and Mossen Green hit for 10 points and added a half dozen boards. Braden Crosley and Logan McLain each scored 6 with Crosley dishing out a team high 4 assists. Fremont (0-2, 1-5) will continue play in the Lakes Division Friday when they welcome in Montague.   Photos by Brent Foondle Morley Stanwood 54 White Cloud 23 White Cloud kept it close in the first half and headed to the locker room down just 8 points. But the Mohawks came out on fire and went on a 20-4 third quarter run to take command and post their second White Division win. The visitors were hot from the charity stripe knocking down 16 of 22 attempts while the hosts were limited to 4 attempts converting 2 of them. Andi Vincent led the team in scoring once again with 7 points to go with her 7 steals and Payton Bird tallied 5 points. White Cloud (0-1, 0-3) will visit Tri County on Tuesday. Fremont 53 Hart 52 Two of the area’s better teams with similar styles went at it Friday on the Packer home court. Coach Zerfas: “We were able to hold them down early in the 1st quarter, but we rushed on offense and were down 6-2 after 5 minutes and down 11-6 after the first quarter. I told our girls after 1 that we were fine, just run the offense and shots will fall. At this point Mia Clemence had 0 points and Hart’s 3-time all-state player Avie Hovie had only 2. The Packers went up 22-19 before Hart hit a 3 to tie the score going into half time 22-22. “In the third we began to wear them down and were up 9 before they got an and-1 late to cut our lead to 6. The hosts pushed the lead to 11 with about 3:30 to go, but Hart made a run and got it close. Clemence hit 2 free throws with 9 seconds remaining to give the Packers a 4 point lead then Hart hit a triple with 2 seconds left to bring the final score to Fremont 53 Hart 52. Coach Z: “ It was a great battle between two competitive teams. Physical throughout. I'm really proud of how we played....we are small but scrappy. It's been a really tough early stretch of games...at Spring Lake, At Sparta, At Ludington, Hart...but we have won 3 in a row and are getting better each day. “ Clemence continues to excel on the court finishing with 25 points 18 of them in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. She also took 15 off the glass and dished out 5 assists for good measure. Riley Chase hit for 10 points and tallied 8 rebounds and Taylor DeKuiper notched 7 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and collected 4 steals. Fremont (1-0, 3-1 will host Montague on Friday.
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