Hoop Time!

Preview: The Girls of the Gold
​By Ken DeLaat
 
The talented young women who compete for our local teams will be taking to the court starting Tuesday.
And we can’t wait.
It is without question one of the best shows in town if you're a sports fan and following one of the local teams can put a dash or two of excitement into what is likely to be a long winter, what with February being 9 weeks long and all.
Last season, after a belated start due to the pandemic, Newaygo marched to a conference crown, battled their way to district and regional titles, knocked off Wayland in the quarters, and surprised everyone but themselves in the semis by taking down a favored Country Day squad before falling one game short of a state title.
They lost a lot of points to graduation but there’s plenty left in the tank with 3 of the area's best players (Goodin, Long and Fisk) wearing the black and white.
The defending Gold champs will open at home Tuesday against Shelby.
The Tigers were pretty young last year but also showed themselves  to be pretty scrappy and improved exponentially as the season progressed.They could prove to be a force in the conference race this year led by returning all conference players Arends and Rider and a strong supporting cast.
They will open at home against White Cloud.
The Packers might be thin on numbers but Zerlaut and the Bennett sisters anchor a capable squad who should be able to put up some points as well as toss out some sterling defense.
Their opener is on the road against an old rival from the Lakes 8 days, Spring Lake. 
 
Here are the team rosters with a little commentary by Coaches Thomasma, Zerlaut and Delamater as they prepare their teams for CSAA Gold competition
 
Newaygo Lions
 Returnees:
 #11   Kayla Fisk  Sr.
 #14   Emmerson Goodin  Sr.
 #13  Jaxi  Long  Sr.
 #14  Grace Painter  Jr.
 #23  Lily Swinehart  Sr.
 Newcomers:
 #5    Iris  Herrera,  Jr.
 #3   Lyda Lathrop  Jr.
 #2   Maria Riddering  So.
 #1   Barbara Toth  Jr.
 #10 Isabella Welch  So.
 
Coach Thomasma:
We bring back 5 players from last year's team and have a good mix of juniors and sophomores coming up to the Varsity level this year.  The challenge is getting the team to come together and fill out the roles that are needed for us to be competitive. Our conference is always tough  and every team has great coaches and players.  We also have a challenging non league schedule too.  We are taking the same approach to this year as we always have.  We just want to focus on being a team that works hard and gets better every day and if we do that we know that we can be competitive.  The group is a fun group to be around and me and Coach Maki look forward to coaching them this year.  
 
Fremont Packers
 Returnees:
#35  Haley Zerlaut Sr.
#33  Kaitlynn Bennett Sr.
#13  Mia Witte Sr.
#24  Carle Bruggema Jr.
#21 Jessica Bennett So.
 Newcomers:
#3   Julianne Hernandez Jr.
#11 Sydney Moon Jr.
#23 Lily VandenBerg So. 
 
Coach Zerlaut:
With only 8 players this season, depth could be an issue. We will need to get contributions from everyone, but will need our experienced players to step up and play like they are capable of night in and night out. If we can avoid injuries, illness, and foul trouble we expect this group to compete at a high level. 
 
Grant Tigers
 Returnees:
#3   Sara Arends  Sr.
#4   Jayci Hance  Jr.
#5   Julie Ashbaugh So.
#11 Chloee Chase So.
#12 Jaycee Rider  Sr. 
 Newcomers: 
Jocelyn Kruithoff Sr.
Makayla Zerlaut  Jr.
Madison Thompson Jr.
Ava Afton Jr.
Morgan Kruithoff Jr.
Jocee Pleune Fr.
 
Coach Delamater:
Last year we started two freshmen and had a sophomore coming off of the bench. With that, coupled with all the circumstances surrounding the season, we were really in a hole. A summer of basketball has helped us find our identity as a team and gain much-needed experience. We graduated three last year, but are gaining some great athletes. Makayla Zerlaut scored in bunches for the JV team last year and freshman Jocee Pluene is a stat stuffer who could lead the team in scoring, rebounding, steals, and assists on any given night. Jocelyn Kruithoff, Ava Afton, Madison Thompson, and Morgan Kruithoff give us the depth we need at each position and have helped push us to get better in the pre-season. Jayci Hance is a great open-court player who has shown lots of promise in the offseason. Our returning starters come back with experience and determination this year. Sophomores Chloee Chase and Julie Ashbaugh will have a huge impact on every game. Seniors Jaycee Rider and Sara Arends are great leaders and both are looking to cap off three years of varsity basketball with their best season of the three. Both are fantastic defenders with high basketball IQs. Rider can fill it up on the outside and Arends is a great slasher/attacker who sees the floor extremely well. Our outlook on the season is simple, we are looking to compete in every game we play this year. No one will be able to look at their schedule and mark Grant as an automatic win.

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