Saugatuck gets defensive in victory

By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
In the first half of its SAC contest against Gobles on Friday, Jan. 26, the Saugatuck girls basketball team played a smothering brand of defense.
And the Trailblazers were even better in the second half.
Saugatuck limited the Tigers to 13 first-half points before holding Gobles to nine second-half points.
The result?
A 55-22 victory that upped the Trailblazers’ winning streak to five and moved their record to 10-1 overall and 5-1 in divisional play.
“Defense was definitely the theme for us tonight,” Saugatuck coach Kevin Tringali said. “Our on-the-ball and team defense were both outstanding. We communicated well, kept (Gobles’ players) in front of us and helped when needed all night.”
And while defense was the main calling card for the Trailblazers in this game, they weren’t too shabby on the offensive end, either.
Those offensive skills were on full display in the third quarter.
Leading 23-13 at halftime, Saugatuck outscored Gobles 16-6 in the third stanza to go up 39-19. Twelve of those points came on a quartet of 3-point baskets, two of which came courtesy of freshman Mylah Simpson.
“It’s been an emotional week for us, but our kids are resilient and really stepped up tonight,” Tringali said. “This was our best overall effort of the season.”