Saugatuck beats Loy Norrix in regular-season finale

By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
It was a case of David vs. Goliath when Division 3 Saugatuck hosted Division 1 Loy Norrix in a girls basketball clash on Thursday, Feb. 27.
And as happened in the original battle, David earned a convincing victory.
Led by the dynamic guard duo of junior Tali Laskowski and sophomore Mylah Simpson, the Trailblazers cruised to the 70-46 win. That upped Saugatuck’s record to 21-1 and ran its winning streak to 16 straight to close out the regular season.
Laskowski and Simpson combined for 56 points, scoring from beyond the 3-point line and driving to the basket.
“Our guards are tough,” Saugatuck coach Kevin Tringali said. “Tali and Mylah push each other and help make each other better every day. They also make everyone on the floor better.”
Laskowski finished with a game-best 30 points, while Simpson had 26.
Making the margin of victory even more impressive is that fact that Saugatuck was playing without the services of two of its starters: senior Kennedy Gustafson and sophomore Nova DeGraff.
“I love our grit tonight and how our kids stepped up for their injured teammates,” Tringali said. “This has been a special group I love the way they play for each other. They also know there is no letting off the gas as it’s now a brand new season and we still have work to do heading to the postseason.”
Two days earlier, Saugatuck hosted archrival Fennville and rolled to the 55-20 victory.
The Blackhawks took a quick lead on a 3-pointer by Cailey Mokma and the teams were deadlocked at 5-5 midway through the first quarter.
But it was all Saugatuck from there, as the Trailblazers embarked on a 29-1 run and eventually led 36-10 at halftime
The second half was simply more of the same, as Laskowski scored 10 of the first 13 points of the third quarter to push Saugatuck’s lead to 49-10.
The Trailblazers led 51-13 entering the final frame.
Laskowski finished with a game-high 18 points, followed by Simpson with 15. Eleven of Simpson’s points came in the second quarter.
Gustafson scored eight of her 11 points in the first quarter before being forced to leave the game in the second stanza due to a facial injury.
“As we head into postseason, it was very important for us that we played a complete game tonight and we feel like we did,” Tringali said. “Our kids played every possession hard and with great effort and energy. We like where are heads are as we approach the postseason.”