Monday Hoops: Pirates and Vikings Sail Past Lions and WC

Hart 61 White Cloud 27
The Cloud hit what is likely the toughest part of their schedule facing a pair of the best teams in the region back to back with the added element of both being on the road.
Coach Wilk: “Fresh off a game against Kent City we had a quick turn around to play another top team in division 3. The score would indicate a lopsided loss but this game was within eight points in the third quarter a couple of times. Hart has some great ball players, so we knew we needed to start off strong. We scored 9 points in the opening period, and Hart put up 16. Our defense and their defense tightened up in the 2nd. We allowed 9 more points, and we scored 5. Halftime was 14-25. To start the third we had a couple plays drawn up to get some open looks and we hit our shots early to close the gap to 8. From that point on Hart made a nice run to extend their lead 25-40 at the end of the 3rd. In the 4th quarter Hart continued their run with a 21 to 2 advantage. The end score was 27 to 61. 
“Outside of the 4th quarter I thought we played them very well. We struggled on the defensive glass, and I think that was our downfall tonight. I thought our girls played with a lot of heart, and they all continue to grow as players and as people. Luckily, we have a few nights off before we play Newaygo on Friday because we have some bumps and bruises that need to heal up. Jaden Gomez might not have scored tonight, but she was a huge reason why we were in this game tonight. We were led offensively by Gaby Reeve who had 11 points. Kiara Edwards hit for 10, and Annie Felpausch/Gracy Holmes added 6 more.”
White Cloud (3-4, 7-7) will hist Newaygo on Friday

Whitehall 28 Newaygo 21
In a low scoring affair the Vikings came out on top behind a 4th quarter comeback. The Lions went into the final frame with a 21-17 lead. That’s when the offense went stone cold getting blanked in the fourth while the Vikings scored 11 to take and hold the lead for the win. 
Coach Thomasma: "Girls played hard and got in the right spots for the most part but we just didn't shoot the ball well at all tonight.  We had opportunities to make some shots but they just didn't fall and you can't do that against a team like Whitehall who plays pretty good defense."
Amaya Lathrop led the LIons with 7 points and Barbara Toth hit for a half dozen.
Whitehall’s Ashley Tenbrink scored a game high 9 points and fellow Viking  Lola Buckner added 6. 
Newaygo (2-5, 4-11) has a quick turnaround with a road game in Holton on Tuesday then travels a bit north to take on White Cloud on Friday.

​