By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
LAWTON—A third-quarter scoring run by Lawton proved to be the undoing for the Saugatuck girls basketball team on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
After the teams fought to a 16-16 standoff at the end of the first half, the Blue Devils used a 9-0 spurt in the third stanza to take the lead for good, handing the Trailblazers the 42-36 loss.
The defeat was the second in the row for Saugatuck (2-2) following a pair of victories to open the season.
“We played hard tonight, but we continue to struggle from the outside and that’s really been the difference these past two games,” Saugatuck coach Kevin Tringali said. “Teams are zoning us and clogging the middle and daring us to shoot. It’s that simple.
“The good news is I know we can shoot the ball and it’s just a matter of time. We’re young and it’s early. It will happen.”
The Trailblazers faced a nine-point deficit at the end of the third quarter. And while they managed to keep the deficit at single digits—and claw a little bit closer in the process—they didn’t have quite enough to get over the proverbial hump.
Kennedy Gustafson led Saugatuck with 13 points.
For Lawton, Ella Richter netted a game-best 14 points. Kylee Somers added nine points to go with seven rebounds.