Tigers Fall In OT, Lions Whip Warriors

MS takes the title while Tigers, Eagles, Coyotes tie for 2nd

Morley Stanwood 64 Grant 57
Coaches and teams prepare for each game as it comes, striving to keep themselves and their players from looking ahead on the schedule. But this one has been on the radar for awhile. Early on, the regular season finale for the Grant and Morley teams seemed destined to be a big one. When the ‘Hawks lost to Big Rapids earlier this month it gave the Tigers a one game edge that was erased when the surging Kent City squad knocked them back into a tie for the top spot.
Friday the teams met with it all on the line in a battle  that, of course,  took them into overtime. When the final buzzer sounded  it was the MS team left standing as conference champs, coming back in dramatic fashion to earn the hard fought victory.
Behind a dozen first half points by Julie Ashbaugh and 11 by Natalia Rodriguez the Tigers built a 32-23 lead at intermission and pushed the lead to 16 with Alexa Obenauf and Reece Gragg hitting threes. Foul trouble began to plague Grant. 
Coach Delamater: "We got our third foul on four of our key players, two of which, Reece Gragg and Emma Thompson, took away our inside presence and we were forced to go zone to stop them from pounding it inside.”
That was when Morjey sharpshooter Lynsey Biller gunned  her team back into the game, scorching three triples in a row and the visitors began to inch closer to the Tigers. By the time the teams entered the final 8 minutes the Tigers were clinging to a 2 point lead. Jocee Pleune hit a pair from distance for Grant in the 4th but with 10 seconds left Mackenna Martin scored the tying bucket off a free throw rebound to send the game into overtime. 
It was all ‘Hawks in the extra frame, scoring early on the Tigers early then hitting the needed foul shots to ice the game and lay claim to the title.
Coach D.: "Another bitter loss for us. We battled all game and fought a ton of adversity throughout the night. We knew coming out at half that they were going to make a run at us. We've talked about little things all season and they were the difference in the game tonight. On top of that, we have to respond better to physical play. Morley's comeback was a result of how physical the game got. We are not a big physical team. Our guards, night in and night out, get pushed around. If you look at all five of our losses this season, physical play is a major factor and we have to be more prepared for that. I am extremely proud of our girls. They played a great game but came up short. Now it's time to get ready for a district push."
Ashbaugh led the Tigers in scoring with 14 points, Rodriguez finished with 12 and Bella Welch hit for 11. Biller finished with 26 for MS.

Newaygo 54 Chippewa HIlls 22
The Lions wrapped up their regular season on a high note as they charged to an early lead and never looked back in their road win over the Warriors.
Coach Thomasma: "The team played a pretty complete game tonight up in Chippewa Hills.  We got into some early foul trouble which put some pressure on our rotations.  Amaya (Lathrop)  made some big buckets for us to keep us going offensively.  I thought as the game went on, we were able to dictate the tempo on both ends of the court.  The girls finished the season pretty strong (7-3 in the last 10) which moved us up in the conference.  We will see who we play next week once the MPR's scores come out.”
Lathrop led the Lions with 17 points (13 in the first half), 7 steals and 2 assists.  Addison Goodin added 11 points, 8 rebounds and 6 steals.  Ruby Hughes had 7 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.