By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo courtesy of Miles Postema
Rockford girls’ basketball coach Brad Wilson said at the beginning of the year that the Rams were willing to take on all comers and would stop at nothing to procure one of the toughest schedules in the state in the 2025-26 season. The Rams took that to another extreme over the past week as they played a trio of teams ranked in the top ten at various venues that did not include a home contest at Rockford
The Rams began the grueling stretch by traveling to Muskegon to take on a Big Red team that is ranked in the top five in the state of Division 1 and features a trio of NCAA Division 1 players. In a contest that was within one to four points for nearly the entirety of the contest, Rockford came up on the short end of a 58-51 loss. Muskegon led after each of the first three quarters but never by more than three points. Rockford rallied early in the final quarter to take a 42-38 lead with five minutes to play, but the Big Reds capitalized on second chances and a nearly flawless display from the free throw line to claim the victory. Audrey Muterspaugh led the Ram offense with 15 points and Sienna Wolfe added 11.
“We really struggled to clean up on the boards over the final few minutes,” said Wilson. “We did not have a great shooting night, but we forced 21 turnovers and certainly had our chances but in the end you still have to credit Muskegon for making the plays at crunch time. This was the third straight season when we have lost at a fairly early point of the season against a very good team and we need to use this as a focal point to work on our game from every aspect to achieve our goals as the season progresses.”
The Rams then played at Cornerstone against a Howell squad that was ranked in the top five of the state along with Rockford. The lessons learned from the Muskegon loss were grasped firmly by the Rams as they posted a solid 52-36 win against the Highlanders. Rockford jumped out to a huge 33-15 edge at the half as Howell struggled to get the ball past the midcourt line for long stretches. The second half was fought to basically a standstill with the Rams claiming the big win. Addison Wypych led Rockford with 17 points with Wolfe adding 11. Muterspaugh added 10 while Kendall Bires flashed her unlimited potential with nine points as the sixth player in the Rockford rotation.
“We knew Howell had a really good team coming into the game,” said Wilson. “But we were able to dictate the pace of the game from the start and gave them a lot of trouble with the press from the start. Audrey (Muterspaugh) really makes our press go and has great instincts and anticipation at that end of the floor. She had 17 steals in our first two games of the year and is also a very efficient player offensively. We are so proud that she has really taken a big leap as a player and has been making the most of her senior season. But it was also a very good team win in many aspects.”
Rockford then wasted no time returning to action as they faced off with Grand Rapids Catholic Central on the 20th at Aquinas College. The Cougars were yet another team ranked in the top ten in Division 2. But the Rams wasted no time imposing their will as they played their most complete game of the year in throttling CC 79-44. Rockford built a 22-8 lead after the opening quarter and continued to expand on that lead as the game progressed. Everyone got involved for Rockford in a game that left little mystery as to the eventual outcome by the half. Wolfe led Rockford with 19 points while Wypych and Bires added 11 and 10 points respectively. Kate Higgins scored nine and Muterspaugh had 8. Audrey Zollman had 5 along with Brooke Hambleton as multiple Rams had an impact on the game.
“I am not sure if it was a school record or not, but we had 53 rebounds tonight as a team,” said Wilson. “It was certainly the most since I have been the head coach here and it just showed we took the lesson to heart from the Muskegon game about owning the boards. We were also very good defensively tonight even though they hit eight triples tonight. Most of them were difficult shots from distance that were tightly contested.”
Rockford finished up the bunched-up schedule by hosting Coldwater on Monday the 22nd at Cornerstone University. Rockford built a lead of 40-14 early in the third quarter and substituted liberally over the balance of the game in coasting to the 47-23 win. Wolfe again led Rockford with 13 points and Wypych contributed 11. Higgins had eight points and five steals while Jordan Mateer had six on a pair of triples. MJ Obeaunauf added four in a solid effort off the bench.
“We have been really striving to build solid depth from the beginning of the season,” said Wilson. “I really feel that is one of our biggest strengths and allows us to go ten or eleven deep and take advantage of our press by keeping fresh bodies on the floor when we need them. It is a great experience for our kids to lay against all of these great teams while playing freely within the system and taking advantage of our strengths.”
The 5-1 Rams will now be on a bit of a break after a very bust stretch. The next game for Rockford is another nonleague contest at home against Midland on Tuesday, January 6 at 7:00 P.M.Midland is another solid team from the middle of the state and will be the final tune-up for Rockford before they begin league play. OK Red action begins on Friday, January 9 against a strong East Kentwood contingent at 7:00 P.M. at Rockford as well.
