Double Dribble: Girls Basketball Recap 1/15/23

**ARTICLE BY JOSH LONGSTRETH**

DOUBLE DRIBBLE: GIRLS BASKETBALL 1/16/23

1/9/23

• Newaygo jumped out to a big start over Big Rapids Crossroads, defeating the Cougars, 47-19. Grace Painter led the Lions with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Kija Westbrook had herself a big night with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals. The Lions led 28-9 at the half to cruise the rest of the way. Head coach Nate Thomasma was excited for his group, “Great win for the team tonight. I thought we did a good job of applying some pressure on defense and we moved the ball well offensively against their zone defense to get some open shots. The girls came out with some good energy and it showed”. Newaygo improves to 2-6 while Crossroads drops to 4-4.
• North Muskegon dropped their game against White Cloud, 17-35. The Norse would struggle offensively in this one and the Indians were able to take advantage of turnovers. Gabriella Reeve was big for White Cloud with 16 points. Jaden Gomez put in 10 points.

1/10/23

• East Grand Rapids improved to 8-1 on the season after a win over Northview, 74-40. Macy Brown put together a big night with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Jasmine Honicutt pitched in 12 points and 10 rebounds. Claire Weaver added 11 points. Regan Weaver was big on the glass with 13 rebounds while adding 9 points.
• Fennville fell to Parchment on Tuesday, 32-54. The Panthers jumped on the Blackhawks early to hold a 26-7 advantage after one half of play. That lead would grow to 46-21 heading into the 4^th. Lila Rosema led Fennville with 19 points. Blackhawks head coach Josh Weimer knows his team will need to get off to better starts but was still happy with the effort he got from his team, “We got off to a pretty slow start tonight, but we fought hard throughout the whole game and made some improvements as the game progressed. We’re going to keep collecting small victories throughout these losses and work hard to gain better results. We’re looking forward to the next opportunity to play on Friday”. Fennville falls to 2-6 after the loss.
• Frankenmuth put together a big win over Garber, 58-20. The Eagles held a big 34-9 advantage at the break. Frankenmuth was led by Sophomore Clare Conzelmann with 15 points. Mia McLaughlin chipped in 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Lexi Boyke put in 8 points and 9 rebounds. The Eagles stay undefeated in the TVC 8 at 4-0 and moves their overall record to 7-1. The Eagles would travel to Freeland to take on a tough Falcons team on Friday night.
• Fremont defeated Whitehall in an overtime battle, 42-40.
• Gobles cruised to a win over Decatur, 39-16. Kennadi Killeen led the way for the Tigers with 17 points and 8 steals. The Tigers improved to 5-4. The Raiders would fall to 0-7.
• Hart took on newcomer to the WMC Conference, Hesperia, defeating the Panthers, 81-6. It was all Pirates on the night as they would welcome Hesperia with not so welcome intentions. Hart would hold a big 53-6 advantage at the half. The Pirates really set the tone by some tough defense all night. Head coach Travis Rosema was happy with his teams performance, “I’m happy with the way the girls played tonight. For the majority of the game we stayed focused and met to our expectations”. Abby Hicks paced the Pirates with a big night putting together 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals. Addi Hovey had a big night of her own with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. Aspen Boutell pitched in 10 points and 5 rebounds. Chloe Coker was great on the defensive end with 6 steals.
• Hopkins went on the road to defeat Calvin Christian, 59-39. Mady Weber put together a big effort with 19 points on the night. Ellie Sebright added 11 points while Nevaeh Helderop finished with 10 points. The Vikings improved to 6-3 with the win. The Squires drop to 6-3.
• Kalamazoo Central was off and running to a win over Portage Central, 47-22.Tayla Dillard put together a monster effort finishing with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals.
• Lowell cruised to a win over Greenville, 68-17. Megan Leslie paced the Hornets with 13 points in the game. Greenville would fall to 7-2 with the loss while Lowell remains undefeated. Piper Risdon was sensational with 35 points and 8 rebounds. Taryn Jackson pitched in 13 points and 10 assists. Braxcynn Baker finished with 10 points.
• Martin defeated Hartford, 47-30. The Clippers cruised in this one despite still being down some players. They would grab a big 25-6 lead the half. Makayla Goddard led the way for the Clippers with 15 points, 7 assists and 3 steals. Avery Jager pitched in 10 points and 9 rebounds. Lynsey Jager added 7 points and 8 rebounds.
• Mona Shores defeated Wyoming, 48-39. Katie Phillips paced the Sailors with 15 points. Lauren Hylland added 10. Mya Nabors and Shayka Anderson each pitched in 10 for the Wolves. Mone Shores improves to 7-3. Wyoming will move to 6-4.
• Montague would cruise against Manistee, 45-35. The Wildcats put together a big 3^rd quarter to build some momentum in the second half. Haylee Schwarz was big for Montague with 11 points and 7 rebounds.
• Newaygo would fall to Western Michigan Christian, 31-44. Grace Painter led the Lions with 13 points and 7 rebounds. Newaygo would lead after one quarter of play but a slow start to the 2^nd quarter would put them down. Nate Thomasma knows his team will improve and look to bounce back, “It was not our best night of basketball and that starts with me. We made way too many mistakes. We still need to regroup at practice tomorrow and get ready for our next game on Friday”. Newaygo falls to 2-7. The Warriors improve to 4-4.
• North Muskegon fell to Holton, 33-50. The Norse would really put together a solid 1^st half to hold a halftime lead but the Red Devils would come out in a flurry in the 2^nd. Holton was able to make some halftime adjustments to put together one heck of a defensive effort. The Red Devils now move to 2-2 in conference and 5-5 overall. North Muskegon sits at 1-3 in conference and 207 overall. Marilyn Gaston put in 8 points to lead the Norse on the night.
• Rockford: The Rams had to hit the road to East Kentwood on Tuesday that had Rockford looking to hold onto their 2nd place spot in the OK Red. The Rams came away with the win 40-28.
• Spring Lake would fall to West Catholic, 25-58. The Lakers were coming off a 24-day layoff to get back into action. The Falcons and their #1 ranking in Michigan through all divisions, took full advantage. Emma Nicles and Alexa Carter led Spring Lake with 6 points apiece. West Catholic was led by Elisha Dykstra with 20 points. Cadence Dykstra, Ellie Bies, and Reese Polenga all added 8 apiece to put together a balanced scoring attack for the Falcons. The Lakers are now 4-2 overall as they visit Holland Christian on Friday. West Catholic is 9-0 overall and head to Allendale on Friday.
• Zeeland West defeated Holland on the road, 59-22. The Dux would move to 5-4 with the win. Ally Yonker (14 points, 2 steals), and Jordyn Klaasen (11 points, 3 steals) led the way for West.

1/11/23

• Hackett Prep fell to Benton Harbor in OT , 37-38. Alyse Baughman was big for the Irish with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals. Layne Ridderman added 13 points. Hackett fell to 4-5 with the loss. The Tigers would improve to 8-3.
• Kalamazoo Central picked up a 54-42 win over Lansing Waverly to improve to 7-1 on the season. Tayla Dillard put together a monster effort with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Kynnedy Brown added 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks. Kalamazoo Central hosts Portage Central on Friday.

1/13/23

• Edwardsburg put together a balanced scoring attack in a win over Niles, 67-29. Valentina Johnson (11 points), Maddie Pobuda (11 points), Averie Markel (11 points) and Kourtney Zarycki (10 points) were all big for the Lady Eddies who improve to 7-3 on the season.
• Fennville defeated South Haven on Friday, 59-16. The Blackhawks were off and running early to have a 19-5 advantage in the first quarter. They would up their lead to 32-9 heading into the half. That lead old sell to 47-10 heading into the final quarter. Kyli Bushee led the Blackhawks with 15 points on the night. Lila Rosema picked up 14 points. Christina Mendoza finished with 11 points. Fennville head coach Josh Weimer was proud of his teams effort, “It as an all-around team effort tonight. We shared the ball well and everyone celebrated each others success tonight. It’s just good to see our girls winning. I’m always happy for them when they’ re reminded that the hard work is rewarding and pays off”. The Blackhawks move to 3-6 on the season.
• Frankenmuth was off and running Friday night as they knocked off rival Freeland, 62-31. The Eagles would jump out to a big 28-8 in the 1^st quarter. Their lead would sell to 40-16 heading into the half. Mia McLaughlin led Frankenmuth with 23 points and 5 rebounds. Lexi Boyke chipped in with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Their offense was on par all night hitting 10 three-pointers in the game. The Eagles will be back in action next Friday night.
• Fremont dropped a tough one to Manistee on Friday night, 50-54. The Packers held a solid lead early at 13-5 but Manistee would cut into it before the half. It would still be Fremont, 28-24, after one half of play. Manistee would be able to grab the win by making some big free-throws in the 4^th. Manistee as led by Libby McCarthy who finished with a game high 18 points on the night. Jayna Edmonson pitched in 13 points and Abby Robinson scored 11. Fremont was led by Jessica Bennett who finished the night with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Mia Clemence had 13 points and 5 rebounds. The Packers will fall to 4-8 overall, and 2-4 in the WMC Lakes. Manistee moves to 6-6 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
• Gobles would go on the road to grab a win over Black River, 34-20. Kennadi Killeen was big with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 8 steals. Kaya Huizenga added 7 points and 10 rebounds.
• Greenville fell to Byron Center, 31-78. Megan Leslie led the Hornets with 12 points to score her 1,000 points in the game. Greenville is back in action against Forest Hills Central on Tuesday.
• Hackett Prep picked up a win over Lawton, 35-20. Layne Ridderman led the way for the Irish with 11 points. Alyse Baughman had a great all-around effort adding 6 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals.
• Holton would travel to Hart to take on the Pirates falling, 35-63. The Red Devils would really put some pressure on Hart early to stay in the game. The Pirates would make some big halftime adjustments that allowed the Pirates to gain complete control of the game. Addi Hovey was absolutely incredible as she would put together a triple-double filling the state sheet with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 13 steals.Abby Hicks was big with 14 points and 11 steals. Mariana Vanagtmael added 9 points while Aspen Boutell provided 7 points and 4 steals.
• Kent City put together a big win over Tri County, 69-18. Savana Owens and Makayla Rockwell were big of the bench to help the Eagles grab their third win in a row. Madelyn Geers led the Eagles with 20 points and 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Lexie Bowers finished with 18 points, 7 steals and 6 assists. Freshman Alyssa Miller added 10 points. Lila Volkers knocked down 3 three-pointers to add 9 points. Kent City sits at 9-2 on the season. The Vikings fall to 1-10.
• Lowell defeated Forest Hills Northern, 74-39 to improve to 10-0 on the season. Braxcynn Baker played absolutely out of her mind in this one to put up 37 points on the night. Piper Risdon added a big night of her own with 19 points. The Red Arrows face East Grand Rapids on Tuesday. Forest Hills Northern falls to 5-5.
• Martin picked up an impressive win over Galesburg Augusta, 34-28. The Clippers really had to battle for this one with a short handed roster. Head coach Ben Schipper was beyond excited for his team, “I’m so proud of our girls for being so mentally tough tonight. We were without Cirsten and Elizabeth leaving only 7 girls. We played through foul trouble all night long but kept our composure. So many times in this game we could have felt sorry for ourselves or let our frustration affect our play, but we never did. It was such a gritty performance that is a building block for us”. Martin moves to 8-1 on the season while Augusta falls to 6-5.
• Mona Shores picked up a win over Grand Rapids Union, 45-22. Logan Clausen (11 points), Ali Phillips (9 points) and Khaleeya Cook (7 points) led the Sailors on the night.
• Montague fell to Oakridge, 25-45. The Eagles really came out and set the tone to hold a 24-15 advantage at the half. Ella King (6 points), and Braylyn Bultema (6 points) paced the Wildcats. Montague is now 6-4 (4-2 in conference).
• Morley Stanwood cruised past Newaygo, 63-33. Maria Riddering led the Lions with 8 points and 3 steals on the night. The Mohawks held just a slim a slim lead at the half of 30-23 but Morley was able to really gain momentum with some adjustments in the 2^nd half. Despite the loss Newaygo head coach Nate Thomasma was still proud of his teams effort, “Good effort from our girls tonight. I thought we played a pretty good 1^st half against a good Morley Stanwood team. In the 2^nd half, we just gave up too many offensive rebounds and Morley took advantage of that”. Newaygo will fall to 2-8 (1-4 in conference). Morley improves to 7-2 (4-1 in conference).
• Muskegon put together a big effort to defeat Zeeland West, 52-36. Ty’veonna Davis (13 points), Breasia Gamble-Jones (10 points) and Aaliyah Winston (10 points) led the way for the Big Red. Muskegon moves to 5-4 on the season. Zeeland West falls to 5-5.
• Ravenna fell to North Muskegon, 22-26. The Bulldogs would struggle against a tough Norse defense but their defense would keep them in it. Ravenna no sits at 3-5 on the season. They will travel to Hart on Tuesday to take on the Tigers. North Muskegon as led by Marilyn Gaston (6 points), Georgia Skujins (5 points), Francine Vinson (5 rebounds), Allie Jensen (5 rebounds, 2 steals) and Lauren Dahlquist (6 rebounds, 2 steals). Emma Gillard paced Ravenna with 6 points. Norse head coach Sarah Knuth was impressed with her team, “Allie Jensen played her first game of the season and made a big difference on both ends of the floor. Ravenna didn’t expect us to play defense like we did. I am so proud of this team for their united effort tonight”.
• Rockford hosted Hudsonville in another big OK Red game. The 1st half was a battle from the start that ended with Rockford leading 25-16 at half. The Rams pulled away from the Eagles in the 3rd quarter moving their lead to 39-24 after 3. The 4th quarter had a total of 8 points scored. The final in Rockford, Rams 45, Eagles 28. Rockford was led by Anna Wypych with 15 points and Grace Lyons with 13 points. Josie Desmit had 10 for Hudsonville.
• Spring Lake would come up just short against Holland Christian, 39-44. The Lakers would be trailing at the half but they would fight back to take the lead heading to the 4^th quarter. Spring Lake fell behind by two with just about a minute to play as the Maroons would then knock down big free-throws to seal the win. Alexa Carter led the Lakers with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Ella Andree added 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Spring Lake moves to 5-4 on the season and will take on Unity Christian on Tuesday.