Cloud Clips Hornets

Photos by Brent Foondle

White Cloud 36 Central Montcalm 34
It was an exciting night in Stanton for the White Cloud squad who picked up their first Division win. We will let Coach Caleb Wilk tell the story

Coach Wilk: The girls earned this one. From start to finish this game was a thriller. I would be curious to know how many lead changes were in this game.
Coming into the game we were without two of our players, so we ended up starting our three freshmen together for the first time this year (Vincent, Cook, and Coon). All three of them have been working hard this season, and with the guidance of our upper classmen who have shown excellent leadership they have helped these youngins get up to speed playing varsity basketball.
The game started off nice and slow with the 1st quarter showing a 4 to 2 lead for our host. It was one of those quarters where both teams were trying to figure out the other team a bit and gain some momentum. The second quarter both teams dropped in 13 points so our host led by two at halftime. I felt like during the 2nd quarter we moved the ball well enough against their zone and Andi Vincent had the hot hand. She canned in three triples and another two in the quarter with Izzy Shockley putting in another basket. Make no mistake this was not a one man show. Every girl on the court was making the correct passes. Foondle, Burgess, and Williams did a phenomenal job of setting up the offense during the 2nd quarter. 
At halftime we talked about being more aggressive. We only shot one free throw in the first half, so that was a priority. Towards the end of the second quarter CM went man to man, so we were able to game plan at halftime to face it during the 2nd half. 
To start the third quarter CM made a little run. While the attention shifted at slowing down Vincent, Brooklyn Foondle started to heat up and hit for all seven of her points in the third. These points were extremely crucial to keep the game close. To end the third we managed to pull back within one point.
At the start of the 4th CM made another little run to go up five points. Andi made a nice move to the basket to cut their lead back to three. On the next defensive possession Burgess dove on the ground for a loose ball and was able to throw it to Andi who was able to gain a step on her defender and was fouled  on her layup attempt. Unfortunately she missed both, but Addyson Cook snagged the rebound and put it in to close the gap to one point. On the following defensive trip we took another stand and Courtney Coon came up with a steal. After a quick timeout we went back to Andi and she was able to shake her defender and was fouled on another layup attempt. This time she split the pair to tie us up at 31. Fifteen seconds later CM found their sharp shooter who canned in a three pointer with just under four minutes remaining to retake the lead. After a CM timeout. They sent a double team to Andi and she found an open Foondle who then sent the ball to Coon who then hit Andi coming off from two screens. She drove and made the floater but missed the and one. We were now down one. Over the next two possessions we traded turnovers. CM started to stall with about 2 and a half minutes left in the game, so we extended our zone. We forced them into a turnover when Addyson Cook jumped a pass on the block. On the next possession we were called for a moving screen, but we got the ball right back when Burgess was able to get a hand on it, and she found Andi flying down the court for a layup. CM called a timeout with 15 seconds left, and Andi blocked the three point shot that was attempted. Cook rebounded the block and was fouled shortly after. We weren't in the bonus yet so we inbounded the ball and Andi was fouled. She split the pair to give us a two point lead. CM was able to get up two shots before time ran out, but both were heavily contested. 
I'm extremely proud of how hard the girls played tonight. This summer CM  beat us up pretty bad during a camp, so to see the growth of our team since then has been a fun journey to be a part of. 
Andi Vincent led us with 22 points and Brooklyn Foondle chipped in 7 points. 
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White Cloud (1-3, 2-7) visits Chippewa Hills on Tuesday

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