By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo courtesy of Rick Laven
For the second time this season, Rockford and Grand Haven met with a conference title on the line for both teams. The Rockford girls would have split the crown with the Bucs should Grand Haven prevail, and claim it solely should they replicate their win from several weeks prior. In the end, it was the Rams who made another statement with the convincing 61-41 at home on Friday, February 20. That allowed them to claim their fourth consecutive OK Red title. Earlier in the week the Rams topped Byron Center 63-40 on Tuesday and Wayland by the score of 55-35 on Wednesday. Both of those games were also home contests as the Rams moved to 19-1 on the season and a perfect 10-0 in league play.
Grand Haven actually jumped out to a 14-11 lead after the opening quarter in stark contrast to the meeting between the two squads at Grand Haven earlier this season. But Rockford methodically took the lead and gradually increased it in each successive quarter. The Rams took a 32-24 lead into the locker room after clinging to a narrow 25-24 lead well into the second quarter. From that juncture on though, Rockford went on a 17-0 run that made it a 42-24 Ram lead midway through the final quarter and put themselves firmly in control. That run continued into a 27-6 run that made it a 52-30 game at the end of the third quarter.
The catalysts for Rockford were the usual suspects in senior Sienna Wolfe and Sophomore Addison Wypych. The pair combined for 18 of the 20 Rockford points in the third quarter (each had nine) as they scored inside and out with equal aplomb. The final quarter was a formality with the Rams eventually claiming the 61-41 triumph. The Rams won the contest at Grand Haven with a devastating display of three-point shooting. They counted 14 triples in that game but had only six this time around at home. Rockford continually burned the Bucs with precision back door cuts while firmly establishing a game long control of the paint.
“Sometimes it is about the best players being the best players on the court,” said Rockford Coach Brad Wilson. They (Wolfe and Wypych) knew it was close early in the game and they needed to take it over. They made some huge plays for us and I felt once we got a little bit of separation, I thought we would be in good shape. I think there was a little bit of emotion with it being the seniors’ last home game and it took us a while to settle in. I am so happy for this team winning their fourth conference championship in a row. Now we are going to go and cut the nets down and really enjoy the moment. It is always special and we really savor moments like this.”
The Rams will close out the regular season with a pair of games this week against even more top-notch competition. They have taken on all comers and this week is no exception as they take to the road on Tuesday, February 24 against the top-ranked team in Division 3 in Jackson Lumen Christi. Abd conclude the regular season with another road contest against the top-ranked team in Division 2 in Grand Rapids South Christian. The Tuesday tilt is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 P.M. while the Thursday contest is slated for a 6:00 P.M. start.
