By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Batman and Robin. Mario and Luigi. Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Those are some iconic duos.
The Saugatuck girls basketball team has a terrific tandem of its own in junior guard Tali Laskowski and sophomore guard Mylah Simpson.
The pair racked up a combined 44 points and 18 steals to lead the Trailblazers to the 71-32 win over Fennville in a Division 3 district semifinal Wednesday, March 5.
“It’s no secret that Tali and Mylah are phenomenal players,” Saugatuck coach Kevin Tringali said. “They play so well together and kind of get us going on both ends of the floor.”
Indeed they do.
Simpson finished with a game-best 25 points to go with seven steals and six rebounds. Laskowski went for 19 points — 10 of those coming in the final quarter — 11 steals and seven assists.
The strong guard play from Simpson and Laskowski helped offset the absence of senior post player Kennedy Gustafson. She was sitting out for a second straight game after suffering a broken nose during a regular-season game against Fennville Feb. 25.
“We’ve had multiple kids in double digits on any given night and it’ one of the things we’ve been proud of all season,” Tringali said. “We’re hoping that Kennedy can come back (soon) because she’s a big piece of our success. She’s been the face of our program these past four years.”
The Trailblazers (22-1) wasted no time taking control of the game, building a 15-7 lead after one quarter.
The lead stood at 33-11 at halftime, thanks largely to 12 second-quarter points from Simpson.
Entering the third quarter, Saugatuck led 52-23.
Junior guard Penny Grob added nine points to go with four steals in the winning cause.
Much of the Trailblazers’ offensive success was due to relentless defense, namely a three-quarter-court press.
“We knew that our best offense was going to be our defense,” Tringali said. “We actually struggled a little bit against their 2-3 zone, but if we can keep pressure on people and score off our pressure, we’ll be okay.”
Friday, March 14, 2025
