THREE RIVERS — Three Rivers’ girls’ basketball team dropped their first game of the regular season in a close loss to Hopkins at home Tuesday, 40-36.
Dani Glass led the way for the Wildcats with a double-double, scoring 19 points and 12 rebounds. Raja Reyes added seven points and Jennaya Decker had six points.
Sturgis cruises by Colon
COLON — The Sturgis girls hoops team started fast and didn’t let up, as it posted a 40 point, season-opening win over host Colon on Monday night. The Lady Trojans held the Magi to single-digit scoring during all four quarters in the 64-24 win.
Sturgis jumped out to a 15-5 lead in the opening period, and increased the advantage to 34-11 at the half. The third quarter was another high-scoring affair for the Lady Trojans, outpointing Colon 17-7, and that moved the lead to 51-18 heading into the final stanza. Sturgis ended the game by putting 13 points in the book, while Colon finished the fourth quarter with six.
Freshman Cora Phillips led four Lady Trojans in double figures, scoring 16 points in her varsity debut, followed closely by Sydney Bir, who tossed in 15. Kennedy Finnerman notched 13 points, and teammate Addison Webb finished with 10. Kenzie Eicher added four points, and Gabrielle Netke, along with Juliet Mendoza finished with three points each.
Savannah Myers put in nine points for Colon, followed by Raegan Thaxton with six, while Lily Preston and Ruby Bower scored five and four points, respectively.
“It was a rough start against an aggressive and physical team,” stated Magi coach Beth Preston. “We were playing without Allie Vinson, who is a key piece to our team, so we shifted girls into different positions. We struggled to get the ball inbounds, and had a lot of turnovers. We didn’t rebound well, which gave Sturgis four or five shots every possession. We can certainly grow from here.”
Sturgis coach Andy Phillips was pleased with his team, winning on the road in his team’s season opener.
“It was a really nice start for us. We were aggressive on defense and on the glass. We shared the ball and executed well against their zone defense,” Phillips said.
The Lady Trojans (1-0) will welcome Plainwell in for their home opener on Friday night, with the game scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Colon (0-1) hits the road to Battle Creek Friday to take on the Fighting Tigers of St. Phillip. That game is also scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip.
White Pigeon drops season opener to Brandywine
NILES — The Lady Chiefs opened their 2024-25 basketball season Monday night, dropping a 63-13 decision to host Niles Brandywine.
The Bobcats jumped out to a commanding 18-4 first-quarter lead, and never let up, leading 35-9 at the half. Brandywine moved out to a 57-11 lead at the end of the third period, and finished the game holding White Pigeon to two points in the fourth quarter to take the decisive win.
Four players got into the scoring column for the Lady Chiefs, as Shelby McDaniel tossed in six points, followed by Sadie McDaniel, who scored four. Amyia Wright booked two points, while Jamielynn Delarye added a free throw. As a team, White Pigeon pulled down 22 rebounds, with 15 of those coming on the defensive end.
The Lady Chiefs (0-1) will play their home opener on Wednesday evening against Climax-Scotts. That game is scheduled for a 5:30 start.
Constantine defeated by Bridgman
CONSTANTINE — Constantine’s girls’ basketball team dropped its opener for the 2024-25 season against Bridgman Tuesday, 31-18.
Jaedyn Herlein led the way for the Falcons with eight points, Paytin Featherstone added four points, and Olivia Herlein had three points.
Vicksburg cruises by Schoolcraft in opener
VICKSBURG — Vicksburg’s girls’ basketball team picked up their winning ways from where they left off last season, racing past Schoolcraft in their season opener 54-16.
Kendra Cooley led the way for the Bulldogs with 12 points, followed by Makayla Allen with 11 points and Scarlet Hosner with 10 points. Ella Mann had seven points, Emily Zemitans had six points, and Hannah Devries had five points.
Schoolcraft was led in scoring by Addison Sziede and Carley Couk, who each had six points. Sziede had three rebounds, while Val DeVries had five rebounds.
