THREE RIVERS — Three Rivers’ girls’ basketball team went 2-1 this past week, winning over Niles Friday night 50-46, losing to Bronson Monday 66-32, and rebounding with a 74-40 drubbing of Portage Northern Tuesday.
Against Niles, Jennaya Decker led the way for the Wildcats with 26 points and eight steals. Dani Glass added seven points, and Neiraja Reyes chipped in with six points.
“Niles made a great run in the second half tying the game at 41-41 in the fourth. I’m proud of how my girls kept their composure and found a way to win,” head coach Carley Shoesmith said.
In their game against Bronson, Decker led the Wildcats with 12 points, while Natalie McGahan and Reyes had seven points apiece.
In Tuesday’s game against Portage Northern, Decker had 20 points to lead the team, Glass had 15 points and seven rebounds, McGahan had nine points and 10 rebounds, and Alyssa Stalker had nine points.
“It was a fantastic team win,” Shoesmith said of the Portage Northern game. “Proud of the way the girls played today and found a way to bounce back after yesterday’s game.”
Sturgis drops game to Paw Paw, win close games against Harper Creek, Buchanan
STURGIS — Paw Paw came to town last week, and returned home with a 70-61 win over the Lady Trojans.
Cora Phillips dropped in 22 points to lead Sturgis, while Sydney Bir added 17. Madison Webb also landed in double-figures, scoring 15. The 61 points were the most the Trojans had scored thus far this season. The score was knotted up at 17 after the first eight minutes, and The Lady Red Wolves outscored Sturgis by one in the second period to gain a one-point lead at halftime, 33-32.
AJ Rickli fired in a game-high 33 to lead the offense for Paw Paw. “We played one of our more efficient offensive games of the season, however their post player (Rickli) had a great game both rebounding and scoring,” Sturgis coach Andy Phillips said. “I thought we shared the ball well, but we didn’t do a good job of getting her (Rickli) off the block on rebounds.”
Sturgis traveled to Harper Creek on Monday, and with a 49-45 victory, evened its season record at 6-6. Kinder Smith saw her first action of the season due to having surgery to repair a torn ACL, and had a nice first game back. She led the Lady Trojans with 13 points, including five made free throws in the final quarter. Madison Webb added 11, while Cora Phillips put six points in the book. Sydney Bir finished with five, Addison Eicher had three, and Juliet Mendoza and Kenzie Eicher both scored two.
“It was a great team win,” coach Andy Phillips said. “Everyone contributed tonight.”
The Sturgis girls went on the road Tuesday night to face off against Buchanan, and the Lady Trojans came away with a close 32-26 victory. Sydney Bir scored nine points, Maddy Webb tallied eight, followed by Angela Cary, who put in six points. Addison Eicher and Kinder Smith both had four points for the winners.
“I was proud of how our defensive pressure and communication won the game forus tonight,” Sturgis coach Andy Phillips stated. “Despite us having a bit of an off night of shooting, we executed the game plan on defense, and it paid dividends.”
The victory pushes the Trojans to 7-6 overall, with a Wolverine conference record of 2-5. Sturgis travels to Plainwell on Friday, with the tip scheduled for 6 p.m.
White Pigeon loses close to Centreville, doubles up Decatur, wins big over Marcellus
WHITE PIGEON — White Pigeon’s girls’ basketball team lost a close game to Centreville Thursday night by a score of 30-27.
White Pigeon led 6-5 after the first quarter and 14-11 at halftime. Centreville would turn the tables, outscoring the Chiefs the rest of the way, leading 18-16 after the third quarter and pulling away in the fourth quarter.
Sydney McClure had 12 points to lead the way for White Pigeon, while Sadie McDaniel added eight points. Jamielynn Delarye had three points, and Jennafaye Zehr and Kadance Smith had two points each to round out the scoring.
For Centreville, Ellie Reed led the way with 13 points, while Drew Alexander had six points, Berkley Shingledecker had four points, Mary Stears had three points, and Leah Roberts and Mara Webb had two points each.
“Our girls played with a lot of grit and resilience tonight,” Centreville head coach Jill Peterson said. “We made progress taking care of the basketball to give ourselves more opportunities on the offensive end of the court. I’m proud of the girls for their defensive effort tonight against a strong White Pigeon team.”
The Lady Chiefs more than doubled up Decatur Monday, winning 37-18. A 12-3 lead increased to 31-7 by halftime. Sadie McDaniel paced the White Pigeon offense with 10 points and also grabbed 14 rebounds. She also had six steals. Kenlee Schrader scored seven points and added an assist and a steal. Jennafaye Zehr notched six points, one assist and a rebound, while Sydney McClure booked five points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out two assists.
Amyia Wright tossed in five points, added three assists, three steals and a rebound, Jamielynn Delayre and Shelby McDaniel both scored two. Delayre also added seven steals and three assists.
A 24-14 halftime lead over Marcellus turned into a 41-20 win for the White Pigeon girls Tuesday night. Sydney McClure fired in 14 points for the Lady Chiefs, followed by Sadie McDaniel, who added 10 to the scorebook. Close behind was Amyia Wright, who scored nine, Jamielynn Delayre had six points, and rounding out the offense for the winners was Kenlee Schrader with two points.
Shelby McDaniel grabbed four rebounds and had two assists, while sister Sadie came down with 10 rebounds, as well as nabbing three steals. McClure came up big, adding nine rebounds, four steals and three assists, Rachel Byler had two rebounds, Schrader passed out an assist and grabbed two missed shots, while Wright and Delayre had four rebounds each. Wright also added three steals, while Delayre had two thefts.
“We didn’t shoot very well tonight,” stated White Pigeon coach Brooke McClure. She also added that “We were able to drive to the basket and make plays. Defensively, I’m very proud of our effort. I think we played really hard on the defensive end, especially in the second half.”
The Lady Chiefs improve to 8-1 in the Southwest 10, and have an overall record of 9-3.
Centreville takes down Hartford
CENTREVILLE — Centreville’s girls’ basketball team improved to 7-0 in Southwest 10 play by defeating Hartford Tuesday 40-26.
Mara Webb led the way with 11 points, while Emerson Hackett had six points, Mary Stears and Drew Alexander had five points, and Ellie Reed and Berkley Shingledecker had four points.
Saugatuck sneaks by Constantine
CONSTANTINE — The Constantine girls’ basketball team dropped a close home contest to Saugatuck on Tuesday, losing 45-40.
Sienna Salisbury had 11 points to pace the Constantine offense, while Jaedyn Herlein added nine to the scorebook. Jaelyn Buglione finished with eight points for the Falcons.
Colon gives up big third quarter in loss to St. Phil; upends Athens, Kalamazoo Phoenix
COLON — B.C. St. Philip took a seven-point lead after the first eight minutes against the Lady Magi, however Colon came back to take the lead 19-17 going into halftime. The Lady Fighting Tigers went on to drop in twenty third-quarter points, and held on for the 50-42 win last Friday night.
Allison Vinson and Savannah Myers scored 14 and 12 points, respectively, to pace the Lady Magi offense, while Lily Preston added five. Raegan Thaxton and Amaya Johnson both had four, while Ruby Bower finished with three points. Thaxton also yanked down 10 rebounds on the night.
“I thought we did a nice job defensively to slow down their top scorers, but we struggled to get anything going on the offensive end,” stated Beth Preston, Magi head coach. “We did a better job of pushing the ball in transition, but inopportune turnovers got us in the end. She also added “At least it’s a step in the right direction against one of the better teams in the league.”
A 13-point deficit at the end one the first quarter didn’t seem to phase the Lady Magi, as they came storming back to defeat Athens Monday, 47-42. The Lady Indians raced out to a 24-11 lead after the first eight minutes, however Colon would go on to outscore Athens 36-18 the rest of the way to claim the win.
Raegan Thaxton led three players in double-figures for the winners, scoring 15 points. She also added eight rebounds. Savannah Myers and Lily Preston both tossed in 12, Preston also grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals. Allison Vinson finished with five, Madi Kulpinski had two points and Ruby Bower hit a free throw. “We put ourselves in a bit of a hole to start the game, with turnovers and breakdowns on defense,” Magi coach Beth Preston said. “The girls responded, and picked up the pressure defensively and we started hitting some shots. We clawed back to take the lead and held on to finish on top.”
The Colon girls upended the Lady Falcons from Kalamazoo Phoenix Tuesday night, 52-20. The Lady Magi defense did not allow more than eight points in any quarter enroute to the victory. Raegan Thaxton and Lily Preston both popped in 10 points to lead the Colon offense, followed by Madi Kulpinski and Allison Vinson, who both scored eight. Thaxton also grabbed six rebounds, while Preston handed out four assists.
Jaci Borgert tossed in four points, Amaya Johnson had three, and Peighton Stouder added two points in the win. “We got a lot of girls into the scoring column tonight, which is always a positive,” stated Colon coach Beth Preston. “We are able to get some nice looks off of their zone and push the ball a little in transition.”
Schoolcraft goes 0-for-3 against Edwardsburg, Lawton, Gobles
SCHOOLCRAFT — Schoolcraft’s girls’ basketball team had a rough week last week, dropping all three of its games.
On Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Eagles lost to Edwardsburg by a final of 54-32. Val DeVries had 10 points and nine rebounds to lead the way, while Sydney Drenth had nine points and Lexi Blodgett added six points, three assists and three steals.
On Friday, the Eagles lost to Lawton 51-39. Leading the way were Drenth and Blodgett, who scored 13 points each. Addison Blodgett added six points and seven rebounds, and DeVries chipped in with four points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Tuesday, the Eagles lost a close matchup against Gobles, 52-51. DeVries and Lexi Blodgett led the Eagles with 12 points each, while Drenth had 10 points and three steals, Addison Sziede had eight points, four rebounds and five steals, Carley Couk had six points and five rebounds, and Sophie Mulder had three points.
Burr Oak downs St. Phil
BURR OAK — The Burr Oak girls hoops team improved to 7-3 last week, winning their game against Battle Creek St. Philip, 39-22.
Elaine Holtom led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Braylyn Hernandez, who added 16. Hernandez also grabbed eight rebounds, picked off seven steals and handed out six assists. Saryia Cornejo had two points as well as pulling down 13 rebounds.
