Conference-Leading Lions Too Much For Packers

2/12/2022

Conference-Leading Lions Too Much For Packers
Photos and Story by Alexis Mercer

Newaygo 62 Fremont 19

The Lady Lions haven’t been leaving much room for opponents to be in the game as of late, but the fact of the matter is that when Fremont and Newaygo play each other, it is never a foregone conclusion who will come out victorious.

On Newaygo’s Snowcoming night, the Packers would have an extra large crowd to contend with if they wanted to upset the conference leaders. They would also have the Lions’ full court press.

In sync and ready to put some points on the board, Newaygo opened the first quarter with a 19-3 lead. But Fremont was showing no sign of letting up and giving in.

Emmerson Goodin caused major problems for Fremont underneath the basket, finding the bottom of the net and making her presence known from the first minute on.

The second quarter started the same way, with Goodin getting a basket plus one. The score rose all the way to 35-9 when the Lions stole off the press, got the ball to Jaxi Long, this week’s MLive player of the week, and she took a shot from behind the 3 point line that found nothing but the sweet swish of the net.

Despite the Packers’ relentless efforts to cover all the Lions’ players, the night belonged to the home team. In the third quarter, Emme Goodin had the ball at the top of the key, trying to pass inside, but the defense had them all covered. So Goodin stepped back and popped a three, opening the score to 51-12.

Though the rest of the game fell in the favor of the Lions, the Packers were full of tenacious effort.

Haley Zerlaut led Fremont with 8 points. The Packers fall to 2-14 overall, 2-8 in the CSAA Gold. They travel to Grant on Tuesday.

Coach Zerlaut stated about the game: "We knew what to expect. Newaygo is a talented team that plays with a great deal of effort and gets a lot out of their pressure defense, We prepared for their full court press, and I felt that we handled that much better in the first half than we did the first time we played them. However, we didn't turn transition opportunities into points on the scoreboard. We had missed uncontested layups and unforced errors in open space that added up and put us in a big deficit early. As I told the girls, I was pleased with the improvement we showed in handling that pressure, but unless you put it in the basket at the end of the play it doesn't show up on the scoreboard."

And from Coach Nate Thomasma, "Unbelievable effort by the girls tonight. I thought the whole team really competed in all four quarters. Defensively, I thought we were able to dictate the tempo and offensively we hit some shots that always help. Seniors Fisk, Long, Goodin and Swinehart all played well on Senior night for us They are not only great players but they are great leaders. They really have stepped up for us. We'll enjoy it tonight and get ready for Tri-County on Tuesday.

Jaxi Long led the Lions with 22 points, 5 assists and 6 steals. Emmerson Goodin had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals. Kayla Fisk had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.
Newaygo improves to 15-1 (10-0 in conference)