Basketball Is Back!

Photo by April Ringler.

Cloud, Tigers, Devils Open With Wins; Panthers Split While Lions and Pack Fall Short


White Cloud 65 Hesperia 24
The Cloud began the season with a convincing win over the visiting Panthers, taking charge early with a 22-7 lead after one and stretching the advantage to 38-15 by intermission.
Coach Wilk: “With having a younger team our coaching staff decided to have our players focus on three things during this game. Hustling, communication, and turnovers. Sometimes players get a little excited for the first game of the year, so we wanted them to go out there and use some of that excitement to our advantage. I thought we hustled all game, our communication was great, and we took care of the ball.” 
“The most impressive thing for me was how well rounded our scoring was. Gomez set up our offense and led us defensively. She ended the night with 8 points. Kadence Nickoloff came off the bench for 8 points as well. Gaby Reeve apologized for having an off night “she had 14 points.” Kiara Edwards led the charge with 18 points “two 3’s and an astounding four and ones as the kids would say.” Annie Feldpausch, Brooke Ringler, and Jolena Deaton did a marvelous job on defense for us tonight, and together they also added another 14 points. Tanaya Klammer, Jorja Baker, and Gracy Holmes also got in on the fun contributing with points, rebounds, and steals. Although we are very pleased with the outcome of this game we do have a lot to clean up before we travel to Muskegon Heights on Thursday.”
The Panthers were playing their second game in two nights having opened on Monday with a 31-18 win over Walkerville. Hesperia will head to Muskegon Catholic for a Thursday game
 
Holton 48 Fruitport Calvary 34
Coach Jordan: “First game and in the first quarter it showed as we came out a little sloppy as expected and were down 14-9 after 1. We knew they had one primary scorer and we were able to shut her down for the final 3 quarters and limit her to one field goal made in the last 3 quarters.  She had 9 points in the first quarter.
“Ryann Robins had a big game for us and we need her night in and night out to be this productive.  Courtney Boes also played a full game and affected the game in many ways.  
Overall happy with the effort but we have a time to clean up as we head into conference play on Friday.
Robins finished with a double double grabbing 10 rebounds to go with her game high 18 points. Courtnet Boes dropped a dozen with 6 boards 5 steals and a trio of assists, Abby Fowler grabbed 7 off the glass to go with 6 points 4 steals and 4 assists and Layl Cannady hit for a half dozen points and added 4 rebounds. 
 
Spring Lake 47 Fremont 34
Turnovers plagued the Packers throughout the game. The Lakers led 13-9 after one quarter and 21-13 at half. The Packers held a 13-8 scoring advantage in the third quarter to make the score 29-26, but quickly fell behind by double digits early in the fourth quarter and could get it no closer than 8 points the rest of the way. The Lakers held an 18-8 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Jessica Bennett led the Packers with 11 points and 7 rebounds. Lily VandenBerg and Khaila Noordyk each added 6 points. Spring Lake was led by Brooke Bolthouse and Ella Andree with 13 points each, while Tessa Britt chipped in 8.
Coach Zerlaut : "It was a frustrating outcome because our girls played very hard tonight. However, we played very sloppy with the ball. We played much of the game in 'panic mode', which resulted in a lot of turnovers. Credit Spring Lake for good pressure defense that we did not handle well tonight. There were positives that we can build on and this team will get better, but it was not the result we expected."
 
Grant 62 Cedar Springs 24 
The Tigers began the season with a roar taking the lead early and never looking back to notch the non conference win.
Julie Ashbaugh was a scoring machine on the night, dropping a cool 25 on the Red Hawks while sophomore Alexa Obenauf hit for 13 points in her Varsity debut.
Jocee Pluene and Jayci Hance helped get the team’s transition going with their strong defensive play
Coach DeLamater: “It was a great start to the season for us tonight. It was hard to know what to expect with only 9 practices and a scrimmage under our belts, but the girls came out ready to play. 
 
 Shelby  42 Newaygo 28
The Tigers built a 5 point lead by halftime but the Lions kept them in sight playing their hosts even in the 3rd. The final frame saw the Newaygo shots go cold as Shelby pulled away to secure the non-con win.
Grace Painter led the Lions with 11 points and 7 rebounds.  Barbara Toth chipped in 5 points and   Addison Goodin pulled down a team high 9 rebounds.
Molli Schultz led the Tigers with 18 points.
Coach Thomasma: "Tough one out of the gate tonight for us.  Our girls competed well and kept battling throughout but we just missed way too many shots and had a couple of defensive lapses that cost us.  Give a lot of credit to Shelby.  They are well coached and their guards really made us pay for the mistakes.  We'll get back at practice tomorrow and get ready for Chippewa Hills on Thursday.”

Photo by Riki Edwards

Photo by April Ringler