By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
OTSEGO—A decade.
That’s how long it had been since the Otsego girls basketball team had won the Wolverine Conference championship outright.
That changed on Friday, Feb. 20, when the Bulldogs cruised past visiting Paw Paw 70-37, locking up the outright league title in the process.
Otsego (16-1 overall) improved to 13-0 in the Wolverine Conference with one league game remaining.
Bulldogs coach Tony Koshar was all smiles following the game.
“To win our first conference title in 10 years tells you how tough our conference can be,” he said. “For most of my 14 years here, we have been in contention (for the title), but this is only the second outright title we’ve won.
“I’m just really proud of the girls. This is a fun team to be around. They like each other, the root for each other, they don’t care who gets the credit and as usually is part of being a champion, we have multiple girls that can step up at any time with a big game.”
In this game, no player stepped up more than Madden Fitzpatrick.
In addition to scoring a game-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting—including 3-of-4 from long range—Fitzpatrick also collected eight rebounds and a pair of steals.
“It was fun to watch Madden do her thing,” Koshar said. “She attacked the rim from the start and then also got her three pointers going.”
Fellow junior Brooke Smalldon added 16 points and a team-best nine rebounds, six assists and three steals.
“Brooke just stuffed the stat sheet,” Koshar said.
Audrey Lingbeek and Kendall Hough added eight points each, with Hough also snagging seven boards.
The outcome of the game was never really in doubt, as the Bulldogs jumped out to an 18-3 lead and were up 23-9 at the end of the first quarter. The advantage stood at 44-16 at halftime.
“We had another quick start and we were able to cruise and clinch the title,” Koshar said.
Speaking of the title, Koshar noted how tough the Wolverine Conference was this season.
“The top teams in our league were really tough this year,” he said. “We had to win a couple of close games against Sturgis—who we gave two of their three losses this season—and Plainwell, highlighted by coming back from 19 down midway through the third quarter at their place.
“I feel like they have had a championship mentality all season.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, Otsego bested Vicksburg 61-14 to lock up a share of the conference crown.
Smalldon led the way with 19 point, followed by Mya Engbers with nine, Fitzpatrick with eight and Hough with seven. Malania Miller added seven rebounds, matching Fitzpatrick for team-high honors.
“It was a good night for the team as we jumped out to a quick start and other than a lull in the second quarter, really kept our foot on the gas the whole night,” Koshar said.
Otsego led 20-2 after one quarter, 29-8 at halftime and 50-11 heading to the fourth quarter.
