STURGIS — The Lady Trojans picked up their second win of the season against host Niles last Friday, outpointing the Vikings, 50-33.
“This was a great win,” Sturgis head coach Andy Phillips said. “We battled on defense and that created opportunities for us on offense. We executed well and made the extra pass when needed.”
Sydney Bir put 14 points in the scorebook for the winners, teammate Madison Webb added 10, and Angela Cary scored three. Kenzie Eicher, Kennedy Finnerman and Kylie Brooks all finished with two points.
The Sturgis girls improved to 3-2 overall Monday night, winning their second game in a row with a 44-37 win over Portage Northern.
“We persevered tonight,” stated Sturgis coach Andy Phillips. “Our team defense and anticipation won us the game.”
Madison Webb poured in 23 points to lead the offensive charge, while Sydney Bir put in eight. Kenzie Eicher and Cora Phillips both contributed four points, while teammate Angela Cary scored three.
Phillips also added that “Addie Eicher is progressing well as our floor general. She’s doing good with looks ahead and facilitating the offense. Kylie Brooks was our intangible player tonight, getting hustle plays that gave us the energy we needed.”
Colon gets victory over Burr Oak
BURR OAK — The Lady Bobcats played host to the Colon Magi last Thursday, and came away with the win, 44-28.
Braylyn Hernandez led all scorers, as she popped in 28 points. Teammate Cristal Hernandez added eight points, while Elaine Holtom tallied five, and Linda Ultz scored three.
“It was a good overall game by everyone, but we couldn’t pull ahead by as much as we probably should have. We missed too many easy shots,” stated Burr Oak coach Braxton Hernandez. “Our defense was great, but they (Colon) kept out rebounding us, and that gave them too many second chance opportunities.”
Raegan Thaxton scored nine for Colon, and she also grabbed 12 rebounds. Allison Vinson netted eight points and pulled down 14 missed shots, while Lily Preston added eight points for the Lady Magi. Amaya Johnson rounded out the scoring for Colon, as she tallied three.
“We came out flat with low intensity, which was my fear after a snow day,” Colon coach Beth Preston said. “We didn’t take care of the ball or execute well, and we gave Burr Oak too many opportunities off of our turnovers. We also weren’t able to keep Braylyn Heernandez at bay. She had a solid game for them.”
Coach Hernandez also added “Elaine brought the defensive energy that we needed, as did Braylyn on offense. Our bench stepped up and got some playing time due to early foul trouble. Overall, it was a great win for our girls.”
With the win, the Bobcats are now 3-0, while Colon drops to 1-3. The Magi will play a road game against Jackson Christian on Wednesday, while Burr Oak will also see action on Wednesday, hosting North Adams-Jerome.
Colon defeats Centreville
COLON — On Wednesday, Dec. 11, the Colon Magi girls defeated Centreville at home, 37-35.
Centreville led 10-8 after the first quarter, but an 11-3 second quarter put Colon up 19-13 at the half. While Centreville would slightly outscore Colon the rest of the way, it was not enough to get them the win.
“Centreville turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and we did not do a great job taking care of the ball. I thought our post play really stepped up tonight and made some things happen,” Colon head coach Bethany Preston said. “I’m proud of the team for gutting it out and hitting some key free throws down the stretch. It’s good for these girls to get themselves a win.”
Allison Vinson had 16 points for Colon to lead the way, Lily Preston had nine points and six assists, and Raegan Thaxton had seven points and five rebounds.
For Centreville, Drew Alexander had 11 points and three steals, Mary Stears had seven points and seven rebounds, and Berkley Shingledecker had five points and three steals.
“Our girls played tough to open the season and took the game down to the wire on multiple occasions despite trailing early,” Centreville head coach Jill Peterson said. “It will be a fun year to see the identity of this team continue to grow and develop with the energy and grit we bring to the court every day.”
Centreville wins conference matches against Marcellus, Decatur
CENTREVILLE — Centreville’s girls’ basketball team notched a couple of wins in the past week, defeating Marcellus 45-26 Friday, and Decatur Tuesday by a final of 42-32.
Against Marcellus, Ellie Reed led the team with 14 points, Mara Webb had 12 points, and Shingledecker had nine points. For Marcellus, Ladora Betsargis led the Wildcats with nine points, and Sofia Affriseo had seven points.
“Our defense was pretty consistent all night while our offense is still developing that same consistency. Fortunately for us, our energy and aggressiveness in key moments propelled us down the stretch,” Peterson said.
Against Decatur, the Raiders held the momentum for most of the game, and midway through the third quarter, the Raiders were up 26-20. From that point on, the Bulldogs went on a 22-6 run to take the lead and the win while hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Leah Roberts and Mara Webb led the team with seven points each, while Alexander, Shingledecker, Stears, and Lena Reed had six points each. Ellie Reed rounded the scoring out with four points.
“I’m proud of the girls for the mental toughness we showed tonight,” Peterson said.
Schoolcraft upended by Bronson
BRONSON — Schoolcraft’s girls’ basketball team went on the road to Bronson, and came out with a 54-23 loss to the host Vikings.
Addison Sziede led the Eagles with eight points and four rebounds, while Val DeVries had four points and nine rebounds, and Carley Couk had four points.
Constantine defeated by Lawton, Bronson
CONSTANTINE — The Constantine girls basketball squad was in action last Friday against Lawton, and the Blue Devils came up with a 40-18 victory.
Olivia Herlein led the Falcons with 12 of their 18 points.
On Tuesday, the Falcons lost 57-23 against Bronson. Sienna Salisbury had eight points, Herlein had six points, and Jaelyn Buglione had five points.
White Pigeon overwhelms Comstock, Cassopolis; loses to Buchanan
WHITE PIGEON — The White Pigeon girls won a home game against Comstock Tuesday night by overwhelming the Colts, 51-5.
A 27-point first quarter would be all the Lady Chiefs would need, as they cruised to the victory.
At the end of the first half, the winners held a 43-1 advantage. Sadie McDaniel was the leading scorer for White Pigeon, tossing in 13 points. She also grabbed 11 rebounds and had six steals. Shelby McDaniel booked 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds, had five steals and three assists, while Sydney McClure tallied nine points, gathered in eight rebounds, had five steals and two assists. Jennafaye Zehr added six points, three steals and one assist, teammate Jamielynn Delarye had five points, a steal and a rebound, Kenlee Schrader put in five points, grabbed two missed shots and handed out an assist, and Kadance Smith contributed two points and two rebounds.
Last Friday, the Chiefs took a commanding 33-11 lead at the half, and finished with a 52-28 win over Cassopolis last Friday night.
Sadie McDaniel fired in 16 points to lead the White Pigeon offense, Sydney McClure finished with 14, and Amyia Wright added 10 points in the winning effort. Teammate Shelby McDaniel also got into the act, scoring eight points.
“I’m really proud of our effort tonight, especially in the first half,” stated White Pigeon head coach Brooke McClure. “It’s always hard to play at Cass and we were tired after playing two games already this week, but we came out with a lot of energy.”
On Wednesday, Dec. 11, Buchanan hosted White Pigeon, and defeated the Chiefs 45-30.
Sydney McClure and Sadie McDaniel both tallied eight points, while Kenlee Schrader finished with six. Amyia Wright and Jennafaye Zehr both scored three, and Shelby McDaniel chipped in with two.
“We turned the ball over way too much tonight,” coach Brooke McClure said. “We need to work on controlling the ball more under pressure. Even though we lost, we competed hard and I saw a lot of good things.”
The results move the Lady Chiefs to 3-2 overall, 2-0 in conference play.
