Unreal!

Unreal!
Lions persevere, pull out conference opener

Story by Ken De Laat, photos by Alexis Mercer


Newaygo 44 Central Montcalm 40
Down the stretch you could almost hear the Rocky theme playing in the background. Battered, bruised and nearly, but not quite, beaten the Lions got up off the canvas and just took the game away from the Hornets. A game the visitors seemed to have well in hand.
An unbelievable win as we enter the season that resonates Believe! the Lions began this unlikely journey by going scoreless for the first 6 ½ minutes of the game.When Maria Riddering  scored followed by a Naomi Schillman bucket they got off the schneid but trailed 10-4.
The second quarter saw much of the same as the Hornets stretched their lead to 15 points before Lillian Holmes banged one in off a rebound, followed with draining the foul shot. Schillman drilled a triple and after a Riddering steal,  hit another basket  to end the half down 27-18.

After intermission the Hornets scored twice to push the lead back to 13 but the Lions dug deep once again with a pair of baskets by Amaya Lathrup sandwiching another hit by Schillman. Two CM scores were answered by Addison Goodin and the teams entered the final frame with the Hornets holding on to a 34-28 lead.
CM scored the first basket of the 4th to go up 8. Then came the landslide. 
The Lions went on a tear at both ends of the court taking off on a 16-1 run that secured the conference win. Lathrup hit a triple and a 2 pointer then Kija Westbrook scored twice to give the Lions their first lead of the game with just under 4 minutes left. After a Hornet free throw to tie she scored again to give Newaygo the lead they would hold to the buzzer. Westbrook then iced it in the final minute when she canned one from distance.
An impressive win for Coach Thomasma’s team.

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 "I am extremely proud of my 10 girls tonight.  At one point, we were down 15 points in the second quarter but we just kept playing hard.  The girls stuck together and just gutted out a win.  We were 1-7 from the FT line (CM was 17-25).  We had 18 turnovers in the first half. We didn't play our best but the effort never stopped.  They showed some mental toughness tonight and it's fun to see and coach."
Schillman finished with a team high 11 and added 7 rebounds while Lathrup and Westbrook hit for 9  and Holmes scored 7. Holmes played an outstanding game in the paint for the Lions, rejecting a six pack of Hornet attempts while working the glass for 8 boards. Goodin collected a half dozen rebounds to go with her 4 points and Riddering seemed to be all over the floor playing rugged defense against Hornet playmaker Carlie Bacon and helping the team break the CM press.
Newaygo (1-0, 2-0) travels to Cedar Springs (2-0) Tuesday to take on a strong Red Hawk squad from the O.K. Gold.

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