First Title since ‘09 sends Packers to Sparta Regional Photos by Alexis Mercer Story by Ken De Laat Fremont 49 Grant 40 The Packers notched their first District title since 2009 with a gutsy comeback performance against a determined Tiger squad. But once again, it did not come easy. Grant took control early in the game behind a stellar first quarter by Bella Welch. After she hit the opening basket teammate Jocee Pleune popped one in from distance to make it 5-0. Welch then made it to the free throw line where she notched a pair, broke away after a stop to go the distance for a layup and after Packer Taylor DeKuiper finally got her team on the board by splitting her free throws, Welch scored again and the first quarter ended with the Tigers up 11-1. The second saw more of Welch as she answered the three pointer by Eliana Vandenberg with a trio of buckets. Riley Chase hit a 2 and Grant responded with a triple by Liliana Krepps giving the Tigers a 20-6 lead. The Packers responded with Jessica Bennett hitting the first of her clutch shots on the night, a missile from outside the arc and Khaila Noordyk knocked down a bucket bringing the game to halftime and cutting the Grant lead to 9. The Tigers struck first after intermission with their all time leading scorer Julie Ashbaugh getting her first points of the night and Emma Thompson following with a basket to push the lead to 13. Then the Packers went on a run. Noordyk scored off a rebound, Chase wove her way in for a score and Noordyk hit again before going down with an injury. Her teammates responded by running off another 7 points and when Chase hit to tie it up Grant called time out to regroup having seen their double digit lead disappear. Bennett stuck a deuce and a three while on the Tiger side Natalia Rodriguez converted from the line and Pleune ripped another distance shot and a wild third came to an end with the teams knotted at 29. Tiger Payton Bouwkamp scored and DeKuiper answered, then scored again after a steal. Reese Gragg tied it up with a 2 and Chase put the Pack back up. Gragg responded with a 3 pointer to give Grant the lead at 36-35. And it was the last lead they would see. Bennett was on fire scorching a three then going to the line and converting a pair. Chase hit a 2 and Fremont grabbed a 6 point lead with just under 2 minutes left. Forced to foul, Grant saw the Packers hit7 of 10 down the stretch to secure the win. Coach Zerfas: “Our girls are just resilient and have no quit. I am so proud of them for not giving up or hanging their heads when we were down at least 14 points early. We have so many that contributed throughout the game. Riley Chase was again Huge just like Wednesday. Taylor DeKuiper scored 7 of her 9 in the 4th quarter and Jessica Bennett is just Clutch. She had 8 of her 16 in the 4th including a 27 foot 3pt shot after Grant scored mid 4th. She is fearless.
“We play Spring Lake Monday at Sparta. We lost to Spring Lake in the first game of the season. In the locker room after the game I told the girls if they worked hard, worked together and if they trusted what I was going to teach and coach them, we would see Spring Lake again in Regionals. Not sure they believed me then, but Here We Come. “ Fremont (20-4) faces Spring Lake (17-6) Monday at 7 pm at Sparta High School. West Catholic (23-1) and Unity Christian (15-9) will play in the 5:30 pm game with the winners facing off Wednesday at 7 pm.
1 Comment
Bonnie Erber
3/11/2024 08:19:35 am
Awesome! This year has been outstanding…Go Packers!!!
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