Classic!

Lion captain Jaxi Long battles with Spring Lake's defensive pressure

Classic!
Lions head to Regional Final after putting away a stubborn Spring Lake squad

Story by Ken DeLaat
Photos by Alexis Mercer



In a game for the ages the Lions fought off a strong Laker squad to capture the win and move on to the Regional Finals. 
From tip off on it was a rough physical game. Emmerson Goodin opened the scoring with a bucket before Laker Nicole Schmitt hit from distance to give SL the lead. Jaxi Long drew a foul and drained both then after a stop fired in a triple to make it 7-3 Lions. As they would all night the Lakers kept coming at Newaygo. Laker Jennifer Judge hit a three late in the first to take the lead before Goodin dropped in 2 from the line and the first quarter ended at 10-9 Lions.

Drawing up a game plan for the final seconds in the 4th, Head Coach Nate Thomasma addresses his players

The Laker defense proved a tough hurdle as Ella Andree spent her time on the floor going to combat with Long who responded early in the second by breaking free to hit another three then after a stop she smoothly hit a floater from the paint. Another defensive stop put the ball in Grace Painter’s hands and she rifled one in from distance and after an acrobatic and seemingly physically improbable shot by Long that found net the score was 20-11 Lions
The Lakers were far from finished. They rallied with a 7-0 run and the teams hit halftime with Newaygo clutching a 20-18 lead. 

Early in the third Goodin drew a 4th foul and was forced to sit, a huge blow to the Lions. The Lakers charged forward taking the lead back at 23-22 but the Lions punched back. Kayla Fisk and Painter each split at the line then Long twice found an open Bella Welch underneath who converted both shots. Welch paid it forward delivering a gift to Painter who hit nothing but net and the 3rd ended with Newaygo up 30-23.

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Speed and strength: two qualities both teams' players displayed the whole game

Free throws make or break a team - Emme Goodin does her part from the line

But the Lakers were far from finished. Their defense along with a couple of interesting calls by the officials opened up opportunities as they clawed their way back to within 2. Welch started a move to the lane before firing off a nifty pass to Painter who stood outside the stripe and once again found her target to push the lead to 5. Alexa Carter pulled SL within 3 and they got the ball back with a breakaway that would have been an easy layup except for the dynamic play of Fisk who caught up with the Lakers and rejected the shot before it had a chance.
Laker Coach Subdon called time with just over 3 minutes. Long drew a foul and converted a pair from the stripe but Meah Bajt scored and drew Goodin’s 5th foul. She hit the shot to complete the 3 point play and the game stood at 38-36 with just over 2 minutes left.
Jaxi Long hit a bucket then kept the Laker defense off of her long enough to eat some clock and drew a foul converting both.

Again the Lakers got off the canvas and battled back with a Judge triple to pull within 2 with 24 ticks left on the clock.
Long once again dribbled her way around the court forcing SL to foul and once again the consummate clutch player dropped both and with 13 seconds left as her second shot gave the Lions a 44-40 lead. The Lakers came down and scored as time ran out but it would be the Lions who were moving on.

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NHS fans scream in support of their Lady Lions

Coach Thomasma; “It wasn’t our best game tonight but some of that had to do with Spring Lake. We played the second half without arguably our best player and the girls found a way to win and that’s all that matters. Jaxi gutted it out, Grace made some big time shots for us and Bella and Barb coming off the bench for us was big.We gutted it out that's what we do I guess.
“We know next game is going to be tough either way. Christian beat us earlier this year and West Catholoc has the best point guard in the state.
“I’m just so proud of the girls. They made the plays we needed to at the end. I gotta give Spring Lake a lot of credit. They played really well. They’re a scrappy team and they gave us all we wanted but a win’s a win. We’ll take it and get ready for Thursday.”
There were a lot of heroics on this night. The minutes provided by Barb Toth and Welch, the gritty defense of Swinehart, Goodin battling despite the foul trouble, Painter who not only hit some key shots but also provided some needed ball handling against the Laker press and, of course, Long who in my book is the best shooter I have been privileged to witness.
And on Tuesday evening one of the main reasons the Lions would be moving on was the relentless high energy defense provided by Fisk. She slapped away passes, blocked shots and generally made herself well known to the Laker players. Her work on this night was beyond impressive.
And now it’s to be West Catholic on Thursday, a team that was held to their second lowest offensive output of the season (55) and yet managed to defeat a strong Christian team by a dozen.
It will indeed be a tough hill to climb if the Lions are to move on to the Quarterfinals once again with a Regional title in grasp.
But this is a team that could care less who it is that takes the floor against them. 
They are utterly fearless and as we've said before, their greatest weapon is their heart.
The heart of a Lion.