By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
MARTIN—Having dropped six of their previous eight games, members of the Martin girls basketball team were hoping to get back to their winning ways against Delton on Friday, Feb. 23.
And the Clippers did just that, shaking off a slow start to secure the 36-23 victory.
The win upped Martin’s record to 13-7 overall and 8-2 in divisional play.
The game didn’t start particularly well on the offensive end for the Clippers, who trailed 5-3 after one quarter and 14-13 at halftime.
But the second half was a different story.
Martin used a 14-9 edge in the third quarter to go up 27-23. The Clippers then outscored the Panthers 9-0 in the final frame to pull away.
Makala Goddard and Torryn Harris led the second-half surge for Martin, with each scoring eight points after the intermission. That included a 5-for-6 effort at the line in the fourth quarter for Goddard, who knocked down a 3-pointer in the third quarter.
Harris finished with a game-topping 13 points, while Goddard had the eight each collected in the second half.
Two days earlier, Martin hosted Watervliet (12-7) and jumped out to a 21-15 halftime lead.
But a 12-6 edge for Watervliet in the third stanza knotted the score at 27-27 and the Clippers ultimately fell 42-40.
“It was a tough loss tonight, but our effort and execution were much better than (our previous game,” Martin coach Ben Schipper said. “It was great to see us getting back to aggressively attacking the basket with the dribble drive and hard cuts.
“We need to continue getting back to that purposeful style offense to have the success we had the first half of the season. We battled hard, though, and I was impressed with the return of our grit.”
Harris led the Clippers with 15 points, while Macy Thorne joined her in double figures with 10 points. Liz Reinke added eight points.
On Tuesday, Feb. 20, the Clippers went on the road to face Howardsville Christian and suffered the 50-24 loss.
Martin fell behind 12-5 after one quarter and never could dig out of that early hole.
“That was a very difficult game,” Schipper said. “We were without Avery Jager due to injury, and our team seemed off from the jump.
“Howardsville Christian shot the ball really well and executed their back cuts to counter our pressure. Defensively, they sat in a compact 3-2 zone, and we struggled to make shots. We kept preaching movement and dribble drives on the catch to attack the paint, but we were far too stagnant and needed to be much more aggressive.”
Goddard had six points in the loss, while Thorne and Reinke each had five points.