By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo by Miles Postema
Under the tutelage of head coach Brad Wilson, the girl’s basketball team at Rockford has always prided themselves as being a solid defensive team that usually caused issues for almost every team that the highly successful squad squared off with over the last several years. Four consecutive trips to the Final Four in Division 1 is a testament to that statement. It has nearly always been solid man to man defense accented with a scrambling half court trap that keyed large leads in multiple contests. But the 2025-26 season has dawned and Rockford has unveiled a new weapon at their disposal that has had devastating consequences for the first two Ram foes.
Taking advantage of their overwhelming depth and superior athleticism, the Rams have gone to a full court press that has led to a pair of dominant wins over two solid foes. The Rams kicked off the season by making the short trip to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern on Friday, December 12. Utilizing the press with demoralizing effectiveness, the Rams quickly and steadile built a huge lead against the Huskies that reached over 30 points midway through the third quarter and ended with Rockford claiming the stifling 66-20 win over a team that is one of the favorites in their conference. Addison Wypych led the Rams in scoring with 18 points and Sienna Wolfe added 16. Rockford was able to go to the bench early and often in the win although with the Rams going almost the entirety of the roster with solid talent the lead continued to expand even at that point.
The Rams then waited less than 24 hours for their next opponent as Grass Lake made the trek from the Jackson/ Ann Arbor area to face the Rams. Grass Lake was no ordinary foe as they are ranked within the top two to three teams in Division 2. Rockford started slowly offensively but finally began heating up in the final few minutes of the opening quarter. The press caused issues for the Warriors from the outset and they often had trouble even getting the ball over the midcourt line. By the time the first quarter had ended it was a 17-6 Rockford lead. Grass Lake was able to maintain a semblance of contact in the second quarter and showcased their individual talent as they trailed 34-21 at the half. A Warrior triple to open the third quarter made it a 34-24 game and that was the signal for the Rams to open the proverbial flood gates. Over the balance of the third quarter, Rockford outscored Grass Lake 24-6 to make it a 58-30 contest after three quarters and erase all doubt as to the eventual outcome,
Jordan Mateer went scoreless in the first half for Rockford, but went from zero to sixty in a flash while scoring ten points individually in a span of less than three minutes in the third quarter to help key the rout. The final quarter saw Rockford outscore Grass Lake 21-16 even as the Warriors kept most of their starters in against the back ups for Rockford. Eleven of the 12 players who suited up for Rockford broke into the scoring column. Wypych and Wolfe again led Rockford in scoring with 17 and 15 points respectively. Mateer finished with 13 while Kate Higgins added eight. Audrey Muterspaugh and Annika Drolema both ended the night with six points. Eleven of the 12 players who saw action for Rockford broke into the scoring column. The final score was Rockford 79 Grass Lake 46.
“We wnat to make tempo our friend and just get up and down the floor and wear teams out offensively and defensively,” said Wilson. “That is kind of our theme this year and I thought our girls were running really well the last two days. This year it is a complete team where everyone is contributing one through twelve. That is a lot tougher for teams to guard in my opinion. One of the advantages of being at Rockford is we have a lot of skill. Not just in the first five but all the way up and down the lineup. So we are trying to utilize that as our friend and make things very difficut for teams that only go five or six players deep.”
The 2-0 Rams will continue their gauntlet of a schedule this week. On Tuesday, December 16 they will square off with another top five team in the state in Muskegon. The Big Reds feature three Division 1 players and will be a daunting challenge for the Rams. Rockford will then play another stern test when they face Howell and their 6’5″ MSU commit center Lilly Williams at Cornerstone University on Friday, December 19 at 8:30 P.M. The Highlanders are ranked as high as number two in the state in various polls.
