OTSEGO — The Sturgis girls suffered just their second loss of the season on Monday, as host Otsego edged the Trojans, 43-39.
A second half comeback fell just short, as the Bulldogs held double-digit leads in both the third and fourth quarters. Sturgis coach Andy Phillips said that “It was a tough loss. We played our hearts out, but credit to Otsego for controlling the tempo and making free throws down the stretch.”
Angela Cary and Cora Phillips led the Lady Trojans offense with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
The Trojans were in Paw Paw last Friday for a hoops contest against the Red Wolves, and emerged with a 50 -46 victory.
“It was a good, gritty win,” stated Sturgis coach Andy Phillips. “Our defense was able to get some late stops, and we were able to grab some rebounds late in the game, which helped secure the victory.”
Sydney Bir was the leading scorer for the winners, notching 14 points. Angela Cary added nine, and Cora Phillips finished with seven points.
With the results, the Lady Trojans improved to 9-1 overall, 7-1 in the Wolverine Conference.
Centreville downs Colon in intra-county showdown
CENTREVILLE — The Lady Bulldogs led at the end of one quarter, and never trailed after that, downing Colon Monday night, 47-30.
A 21-10 Centreville lead grew to 35-15 heading into the final eight minutes. The Lady Magi out-scored the Bulldogs 15-12 in the fourth period, but it was too little, too late.
“We could not get the ball to fall tonight, and credit to them, they shot well from the outside,” Colon coach Beth Preston said. She also added that “Centreville started running in the second half and we dug a huge hole. Hopefully we can get past all these snow days and get into a rhythm to start the second half of the season.”
Raegan Thaxton scored 10 points to lead the Colon offense, Lily Preston added eight, Madi Kulpinski had four points and Piper Groff finished with three. Rounding out the offense for the Magi was Braelyn Thaxton and Amaya Johnson with two points each, and Jaci Borgert added a free throw.
Bulldogs head coach Jill Peterson said with cancelled games and limited practice time last week, she didn’t know what to expect from her squad, but said she was pleased with her squad’s performance.
“We went into the game focusing on defense and rebounding, but also had an excellent shooting night. Overall, we were pleased with our play after having not played for 11 days,” Peterson said. “The girls came out locked in, and it was almost like we hadn’t missed a beat. Our attitude and effort were all in for the team, and we’re always excited to see that.”
Lady Bulldog Drew Alexander led all scorers with 19 points and four rebounds, followed by Leah Roberts with seven points, Mary Stears with six points and four assists, and Emerson Hackett and Lena Reed with five points each. Berkley Shingledecker had three points, four assists and three steals as well.
Chiefs cruise to victory over Cassopolis
WHITE PIGEON — The Chiefs led at the end of every quarter to earn a 47-30 win over Cassopolis last week.
Sadie McDaniel and Sydney McClure led the White Pigeon offense with 19 and 15 points, respectively, followed by Kadance Smith with five, and Rachel Byler and Ava Sowards-Haack, who tossed in four points each.
Coach Brooke McClure said that “We played a great high-energy game tonight. I was really proud of our girls’ effort and the way they stayed poised throughout the whole game.”
Smith led the team with six assists, while McDaniel was the leading rebounder with 11. Byler and Smith added eight boards each in the win. The win moved the Lady Chiefs to an overall record of 6-4, 6-2 in the Southwest 10.
