by Ben Murphy
Sports Writer
Lady Red Wolves play to win over rival Otsego
The Paw Paw girls basketball team was able to get the better of rival Otsego on Friday. The Lady Red Wolves, playing on the road in the Wolverine Conference battle, were able to come away with a 48-38 victory.
“Big win against our rival,” head coach Ernie Ramirez said. “22 points in the third quarter was big. Both teams played with lots of nervousness which led to sloppiness in the first half.”
The game was tied 6-6 after the first quarter, with Paw Paw leading 20-17 at the half. Their big third quarter led the Red Wolves to claim a 36-27 advantage entering the fourth.
AJ Rickli led the team with 18 points, Katelyn Baney put in 13 points, Grace Mitchell scored eight, Avery Vogel netted seven and Maya Pratt added two.
Paw Paw also lost a home conference game with Edwardsburg on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 44-41.
Mitchel led the team with 14 points, Rickli scored eight and Addison Roy was able to add seven points.
Paw Paw (7-5 overall) played at Allegan on Tuesday, heads to Sturgis on Friday and will host Hudsonville on Tuesday.
Paw Paw boys drop pair of games
The Paw Paw boys basketball team played a Wolverine Conference game at Otsego on Friday. The Red Wolves weren’t able to find a win though, falling 71-42.
“Tough night against a good Otsego team,” head coach Paskell Miller said. “They play really hard, they are a physical team, and play great team defense along with being able to shoot the ball really well. We came out and were able to hang with them for a while and were down by only four points after the first quarter and then we got into a bit of foul trouble in the second and that is where things started to take a turn. Their physicality wore us down and we were not able to claw our way back into the game.”
Ashton Toliver led the team with 11 points, Troy Vandenberg had eight points, Joe Miller and Nathan LaMere had seven points apiece and Truman Brennan added six points.
On Tuesday, Jan. 17 Paw Paw lost a road conference game to Edwardsburg, 52-32.
Brennan led the way in this one with nine points.
Paw Paw (3-7 overall) was at home against Allegan on Tuesday, heads to Sturgis on Friday and heads to Charlotte on Tuesday.
Mattawan boys take down Gull Lake, BC Central to remain unbeaten
The Mattawan boys basketball team was able to keep their record perfect on Friday. The Wildcats were playing at Gull Lake in a Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference game and managed a 75-57 win.
“A back and forth start kept the game close early,” head coach Josh Brown said. “A switch in presses found success and led us to a 30-8 run in the end of the second quarter through the beginning of the third to open the game up. A very balanced scoring night where four guys get into double figures and 10 of our 13 guys hit the score sheet.”
Ryan Kieslign had 16 points and four rebounds, Noah Vanlaningham had 12 points and six assists, Ryan Van Liere added 10 points, Connor Walsh also had 10 points and seven rebounds and Brendan Garza added eight points.
On Tuesday, Jan. 17 Mattawan had a 62-56 win at Battle Creek Central.
“Slow start found us in an 11-0 hole, we missed our first eight shots but we slowly started to chip away,” Brown said. “Jaxon Engels, Brendan Garza and Luke Willis came in and gave us great minutes off the bench to help us claw back to only be down by four at half. We came out of half and Ryan Van Liere hit two big threes back-to-back to give us our first lead. We went back and forth until we iced the game at the free throw line going seven-of-nine in the last two minutes.”
Leading the way was Vanlaningham who had 21 points and four assist, Kiesling had 10 points and four steals, Van Liere finished with nine points and three assists, Will Kuiper and Garza had six points each and Willis and Connor Walsh added five points apiece.
Mattawan (10-0 overall) hosted Kalamazoo Central in a key league game on Tuesday, hosts Portage Northern today (Thursday) and heads to Grand Rapids West Catholic on Tuesday.
Lady Wildcats tame Gull Lake
It was a home conference win for the Mattawan girls basketball team on Thursday. The Lady Wildcats were hosting Gull Lake and took care of things with a 48-24 win.
“Our press did a nice job of taking them out of what they wanted to do,” head coach Chad Conklin said. “We wanted to get into more of a full court game with Gull Lake and the girls did a nice job of executing our game plan.”
The Wildcats were led by Delaney Elsmore with 20 points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks, Zhia Martin put in 16 points, tracked down six boards and had five steals, Julia Moser had six points and seven rebounds and Alyssa Hinkley had five points and three assists. Cassidy Parmelee also had one point.
On Tuesday, Jan. 17 Mattawan won a home game over Battle Creek Central, 54-35.
“Our full court press did a nice job of getting them to play faster than they wanted to,” Conklin said. “We got into the type of game we wanted, more up-tempo, and got some easier baskets on the offensive end.”
Elsmore led the way with 17 points, six rebounds, six steals and three assists. Martin had nine points and with seven points each was Hinkley and Parmelee.
Mattawan (6-4 overall) played at Kalamazoo Central on Tuesday, heads to Portage Northern on Friday and hosts Grandville on Tuesday.
Lawton girls get win over Parchment
The Lawton girls basketball team played a conference game at Parchment on Friday. The Lady Blue Devils were able to claim a 44-17 victory.
Leading the way was Kenna Macon with 11 points and seven steals, Kylee Somers had seven points and 11 rebounds, Kenzee Terpstra had seven points and Ella Richter added six points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Lawton also lost a game at Dowagiac on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 32-19.
Lawton (5-5 overall) played at Michigan Lutheran on Tuesday, heads to Kalamazoo Christian Friday and hosts Allegan on Saturday.
Lawton boys split recent games
The Lawton boys basketball team were unable to get a road win at Parchment on Friday. The Blue Devils lost the SWAC Lakeshore game 65-52.
Aiden O’Brien had 17 points and Parker VanPeteghem added 14 points.
On Tuesday, Jan. 17 it was a 47-39 home win over Dowagiac.
Luke Leighton poured in 14 points and VanPeteghem was able to net 13 points.
Lawton (5-5 overall) was at home against Holland Black River on Tuesday, heads to Kalamazoo Christian on Friday and heads to Allegan on Tuesday.
Lawrence boys fall to Comstock
The Lawrence boys basketball team played a make-up game in Comstock on Monday. The Tigers were unable to get a win, as they lost 61-43.
They were behind just 11-10 after the first quarter, and were behind 23-16 at the half and 42-32 entering the fourth.
The Tigers were led by Tim Coombs with 12 points, Christian Smith and John Schuman had eight points apiece, Noel Saldana and Zander Payment had five points each, Ben McCaw netted four and Jose Hernandez added one point.
Lawrence (5-5 overall) was at Mendon on Tuesday, heads to Hartford on Friday and hosts Bangor on Tuesday.
Stroud scores 20 in blowout win for Lawrence
The Lawrence girls basketball team welcomed in Comstock for a make-up contest on Monday. The Tigers were able to get a lopsided win, 65-15.
Kaylee Stroud erupted for 20 points, Shelbi Rindfield had 18 points, Riley Sinkler had nine points, Addison Gendron had eight and Carolina Mancera added seven points.
Lawrence (7-5 overall) played at home against Mendon on Tuesday, heads to Hartford on Friday and plays in Bangor on Tuesday.
Gobles sees girls team push winning streak to four
The Gobles girls basketball team notched their fourth straight in won Friday, as they took down visiting Galesburg-Augusta in a close one, 33-30.
“They played a very aggressive type of defense all night that gave us problems,” head coach Greg Barber said. “The girls were able to make just enough plays to come away with a victory.”
Kaya Huizenga led the way with 12 points and seven rebounds and Kennadi Killeen had 10 points and seven rebounds. Charlotte Zantello also had seven points.
On Tuesday, they also had a 41-40 overtime win in Allegan.
“Battled a very tough team and came away with an overtime win,” Barber said. “It was a game with big momentum swings. The girls battled tough down the stretch to come away with the win.”
Huizenga had 14 points and Deanna Wood chipped in with 11 points and five rebounds.
Gobles (8-4 overall) played in Bloomingdale on Tuesday, hosts Saugatuck on Friday and hosts Martin on Feb. 3.