By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Saugatuck sophomore Kennedy Gustafson was a force to be reckoned with during the SAC Central girls basketball game against visiting Martin on Friday, Feb. 10, scoring a game-best 18 points.
Eight of those points came in the fourth quarter, as Gustafson tried to lead her team back from a 34-25 deficit at the end of the third stanza.
And while the Trailblazers did outscore the Clippers in the final frame, it wasn’t enough to prevent Martin from securing the 43-36 win.
“That a really good team over there,” Saugatuck coach Kevin Tringali said. “They’re one of the best teams in the area. And (Martin coach) Ben (Schipper) does a fantastic job preparing his team and having them ready to play.”
The win kept Martin unbeaten in the SAC Central at 8-0 while improving its overall record to 14-3.
“Playing Saugatuck is always a challenge,” Schipper said. “Kevin is a great coach and you know he’s going to throw some different looks at you on offense. So trying to prepare for that can be tough.”
In this game, Saugatuck employed a box-and-1 defense in an effort to neutralize Martin leading scorer Makala Goddard. And Saugatuck was largely effective in doing just that, as Goddard was limited to three points through the first three quarters before going for seven in the fourth quarter to finish with a team-best 10 points.
Other Clippers stepped up, though, with Macy Thorne and Marybeth Ritchie each scoring nine points, Elizabeth Reinke going for eight and Avery Jager chipping in with seven.
“We did what we wanted to with Goddard, but they have several other good players,” Tringali said. “I thought we did a good job defensively overall. (Martin) just found a way to get the job done.”
Martin led 8-6 after one quarter and 22-16 at halftime.
Ada Roth added five points for Saugatuck (9-8 overall, 3-5 in the division), while Penny Grob and Hailey Rivera had four points each.
“We’ve had several girls battling sickness this week and they still came out and gave it everything they had,” Tringali said. “And that’s not an excuse, because all teams go through things like this. I was just very proud of my girls for continuing to battle until the end.”
Prior to the game with Martin, the Trailblazers picked up a pair of wins in a span of 24 hours.
After beating Bridgman 40-26 on Tuesday, Feb. 7, Saugatuck posted a 46-26 win over Saugatuck the following day.
Gustafson and Jenn Schock each scored 11 against Bridgman, while Roth had a career-best 17 points in the Fennville game.
Kyli Bushee scored a game-best 20 points for the Blackhawks.
“To grit out two wins with key players out and others also ailing says a lot about our kids,” Tringali said. “It was an opportunity for some of our role players to step up as well and they certainly met the challenge.”