Lions Tigers, Pack Head To Districts

By Ken DeLaat N3 Sports

D2 At Comstock Park
Monday Feb 28th:
Comstock Park (9-11) vs, Fremont (4-16) 7pm

Wednesday March 2nd:
Sparta (18-2) vs, Grant (11-9) 5:30pm
Park/Fremont winner vs. Newaygo (19-1) 7pm

Friday March 4th: Finals 7pm

A tough District with Newaygo & Sparta seeded 1-2.
Sound familiar? The 2 teams have met in the last two finals, both won by the Lions.
Looming ahead in the Regionals would be a West Catholic team that has torn through the regular season behind a talented deep squad led by All Everything Abbey Kimball.
But first of course there are Districts.

In the opener it’s Pack vs. Park. In their last two games after what has been a difficult season, the Packers scored a season high 65 to beat Chip Hills then turned around and knocked off a pretty good Reed City team.
Park is at home. They beat a pretty good Calvin Christian team and a very good Wayland squad on that court. They were beaten twice by Sparta but they didn’t get run out of the gym like the Spartans have done to some other  teams.
Noordyk has stepped up big time for the Packers. She has progressed into a solid player who looks to be a future force for Fremont. Zerlaut has undoubtedly attracted the attention of Panther Coach Hull and her staff so points from Witte and Bennett as well as Noordyke will be crucial to Fremont’s chances for success. 
Tough hill to climb for the Pack but they’re a better team than their record. 
Whether better enough to beat a tough team on their home court remains to be seen.

Sparta has put together a great season. They lost to Kent City and West Catholic but who hasn’t?
And they have a lot of players who have watched the Lions celebrate District titles after sending the Spartans home in the finals two years in a row.
Grant has been described as enigmatic. So much depends on their ability to make their run and gun offense work because while they have a lot of grit, they don’t have a lot of height so outside shooting is a premium need.
And they have players who can do it. Several players. Chase, Pleune, Rider, and Arends can heat up , Ashbaugh has done a great job getting some points off the glass, and Kruithof and Hance  put in quality minutes. 
They’ll need all that and more. The Spartans want that rematch with Newaygo and they know winning this one is the only way they’ll get it.

Monday’s survivor gets Newaygo.
The Lions have overcome a few tough starts to win handily, repeated as undefeated conference champions  and suit up arguably the three best players in the conference. The Triumvirate of Newaygo basketball, Long, Goodin, and Fisk can take over a game. 
Long’s long distance heroics have been well chronicled. She isn’t just a premier sharpshooter, she wears down opponents on both ends of the court with a deceptive kind of quickness that induces turnovers and leads to points. She has the best shot I have ever seen.
For opponents Fisk is a most unwelcome sight at center court during the Lion press. She thrives in the press and stakes out her territory daring anyone to approach her turf.. Defense may be her domain but Fisk can score and rebound while providing ample opportunities for breakaway points.
Goodin is not just an exceptional talent, she is an absolute warrior. She enters games with a focus on one thing…winning. And she knows how to do it. Always a good player she elevated her game during that tourney run last season and I couldn’t imagine her getting any better.
But she has.
There are no weaknesses in the starting lineup with Painter and Swinheart and while Welch has been first off the bench there are other options to help during the occasional foul trouble.

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