Lady Lions Subdue Shelby On Opening Night Photos and Story by Alexis Mercer With matching purple Nikes and determination, the Shelby Tigers stood mid-court on Tuesday, November 30, ready to face off against the State Runners Up Lions. The newly minted banner donned the gymnasium wall and the excitement was palpable. Starting for the Lions were seniors Kayla Fisk, Emme Goodin, Jaxi Long, and Lily Swinehart along with junior Grace Painter. These five would be slow to start, but luckily for them, so would the Tigers. 2:10 into the game Shelby’s #22 dropped 2 free throws to start the scoring. It wasn’t until 4 minutes in that Emme Goodin got the first points of the game and season for Newaygo with her 2 point basket. For the remainder of the first quarter Goodin only scored two more free throws (two separate trips to the line) due to her aggressive attack in the paint to give the Lions a mere 4 points to Shelby’s 10. Jaxi Long wouldn’t take long in the 2nd quarter to score her own first points of the season, draining 2 free throws of her own. Goodin found another two and then Long made her well-known 3 point shot sing to bring the Lions within 3. The remainder of the scoring in the first half for Newaygo was split between Long outside and Goodin inside: a combination that would prove fatal for the animated Tigers. Going into the locker room at halftime, the Lions found themselves down by 1 point. But not for long. Try as the Tigers might, they were overpowered on the inside with Goodin and Swinehart. They Long kept at her 3s on the outside with Painter providing relief and quick passing to support. And then there was Fisk. Her never ending energy, charisma and tiny bit of sass when prompted by a few foul calls.
The defense won the day for the Lions in the end, smothering the Tigers and opening up offensive opportunities that led to a 47-26 victory at home on opening night. "Emmerson eclipsed the 500 rebound mark for her career tonight. Very proud of her. She is always willing to do the tough work for our team and it has really helped in our success,” says Coach Nate Thomasma. "I thought we had a great second half shooting the ball. We struggled in the first half to make shots and I really thought Emmerson carried us through it. Overall, happy with the win. There is always stuff to work on but in saying that Shelby is always well coached so getting a win tonight against them is a great start to the season.” Jaxi Long led the Lions with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals (5 three pointers). Emmerson Goodin had 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Kayla Fisk had 6 points, 4 rebounds and 6 steals.
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