Area teams get ready for a 2 month run
By Ken DeLaat CSAA Newaygo 1-5, 1-2 What a difference a year makes, huh? Of course having 4 starters graduate (3 of whom are playing college ball), and losing your #6 to transfer along with an injury or two and you are looking at an uphill climb. The Lions are Varsity young and it has been apparent during the first month of the season that they will struggle to score in a conference that possesses a number of high scoring teams.. Coach Thomasma will ensure that his team will progress as the season moves on but fans better keep the expectations on the lower end of the scale. The Lions have averaged just over 20 points a game and that is not going to get you a lot of W’s. Newaygo returns to action later in the week when they face Grant. Grant 4-2, 2-1 The Tigers are in the hunt with Morley, Kent City and BR with CM’s Hornets being another possible contender. They are fast and can win most of the track meets by outscoring opponents. Ashbaugh has made her case as best player in the area and few could argue given her early season performance. In the loss to the Lakers she was doubled nearly all night and still dropped 18. These players are fun to watch and will be making some noise this season but after the loss to Morley they will need to get past the Cards, Eagles and Hornets to have a shot at the title. Grant returns with a 3 game week facing Sparta (2-3) Montague (3-3 and Newaygo (1-5). White Cloud 4-2, 1-1 A 4-0 start was sweet for the Cloud before running into a pair of title contending teams (MCC,CM) who dominated the WC defense to the tune of about 60 points each. Still, this is a good team and Coach Wilk has done a great job getting the most out of them. They’re going to need to score more, a lot more, to stay with some of the high scoring teams ahead of them on the schedule so we shall see how they fare in that category. They return with a trip to Big Rapids.The Cards are undefeated (7-0) but take note: the teams they have beaten thus far have a 7-33 record. WMC-Lakes Fremont 1-6, 0-2 The Packers had a tough schedule in December and their record shows it. 5 of the 6 losses are to teams with a winning record. While the defense has been adequate the scoring has been inconsistent so far which showed in their last couple of games before the break. Coach Zerlaut’s team returns with a 3 game week and have a good shot at picking up a couple of W’s with TC (0-6) coming to town and a trip to OV (0-7) before meeting Montague (3-3) Friday. It could be the week the Packers turn around their season or they could fall a bit deeper into the Lakes Division standings. Let’s hope it's the former. WMC-Rivers Hesperia 1-6, 0-3 The Panthers have lost 6 straight since a season opener win over Walkerville. They have had an terrible time putting the ball in the basket and are allowing well over 50 points a game. Give them a lot of credit because they are out there fighting each game against far more talent than they possess. The season may not bring a great deal of success on the court but these girls haven’t tossed in the towel. They return with a visit to Ravenna (2-3) where the Bulldogs have also experienced a few scoring droughts. Holton 3-3, 1-2 The Red Devils are on a 2 game win streak and play this weekend in the Reed City Invitational. The bad news is they open with a game against an undefeated and likely to be state ranked team in Ithaca. The Yellow Jackets will be a tough test for Coach Jordan’s squad and after Saturday’s game against either Reed City or Midland Calvary Baptist they return to conference play next week with a visit to Shelby (4-3). The Devs may not contend for the title in a tough Rivers Division but if they can continue to score like they have the past two games they will fare better than they did in December.
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