Story and photos by Mike Gesler
Sparta 46 Grant 32 The Grant Lady Tigers came into tonight looking to put another game into their win column. To do so, they would have to shut down a threatening duo of Kensey Armock and Mia Vandenberg of Sparta. From the opening tipoff, the Spartans showed that if Grant was going to win, they would definitely need to be firing on all cylinders. The first quarter started out a little rough for the Tigers. Sparta jumped out to a six point lead before Grant could get on the board. By the time the quarter ended, the Spartans had extended that lead to nine. However, the Lady Tigers were not about to let this one slip through their fingers. Grant went on a nine point run in the second which culminated with a three point net from Kirstyn Throop to take the lead from Sparta. “I thought Sparta came out and gave a great effort. They certainly came out and hit us right away, but I thought we absolutely answered the call. We had a great run in the second quarter. Did what we needed to do,” Grant’s coach Paige Paulsen stated. However, the Spartans were not about to lie down for the Tigers, and by the time the half buzzer sounded, Sparta went into the locker room with a three point advantage. The second half was all Sparta. The Tigers managed to keep the game close through the third quarter with a much more aggressive play, but were unable to keep Armock and Vandenberg from dropping timely threes when needed. Couple that with a fourth quarter that only saw two points on the board for Grant, and the Spartans sailed home with a win over the Tigers. “They kept at us,” said Paulsen. “We struggled a little bit tonight to get a little energy going, and we have to be better than that. I think we got beat on the boards tonight. Missed some open shots late to maybe keep us into it, but I thought we certainly could have made a little better effort.” Leading the Tiger’s effort for tonight was Kirstyn Throop with thirteen points. Kassidy Doornbos put five on the board followed by Savannah Passage with four, Jaycee Rider and Ashley Longcore each with three, and Samantha Wolff and Trinity Swanson each with two. The Lady Tigers will be home again on Friday in a conference match-up against Reed City. Tip-off time is 6:00 pm.
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