ZEELAND – The West Ottawa girls basketball team used a 16-0 run late in the second half to top Zeeland East 55-48 in the girls season opener on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Tied 38-38, the Panthers went on an 11-0 run to close the third quarter, led by a couple of baskets in the paint by Jana Honeycutt.
Nailah Stewart hit a 3 to push the lead to 54-38, capping a 16-0 run.
“We came out and worked really hard as a team and has some consistency. Jana was rebounding and had a lot of putbacks. Defensively, we were getting a lot of stops in the middle,” West Ottawa coach Kelly Wandel said. “Our gameplan is to wear teams down in the third quarter. It didn’t work so well for us in the fourth quarter.”
The Chix went on a 10-1 run late to pull within seven with less than a minute to play, but ran out of time.
“Looking back you wish you would cut the run off sooner with a time out. It is an opener and we knew Honeycutt is really good. We have the ability to turn people over with our press, but it also gives one of the best players in West Michigan an open floor in transition at times,” Zeeland East coach Troy Hammond said. “They hit enough shots and got some big rebounds.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Hamilton 42, Coopersville 41
The Hawkeyes won their season opener despite trailing by 12 with 1:30 to go.
Leah Brink made both free throws with 7 seconds remaining to give Hamilton the win as the Hawkeyes scored the final 13 points of the game.
The Hawkeyes got two 3s from Brooke Petroelje and a three-point play from Emma Slotman during the late run. Hamilton scored 23 points in the fourth quarter.
“It was great to see us not give up in the first game of the year,” Hamilton coach Jacquelyn Malloch said. “We were really aggressive and turned them over. It was great to come out with a win.”
Slotman had 15 points, while Petroelje had 13 and Brink had 13.
Holland Christian 46, Calvin Christian 43
The Maroons used a 14-6 advantage in the third quarter to earn the non-conference victory in their season opener.
Kate Van Appledorn led Holland Christian with 12 points. Allison Lamer had eight and Brooklyn Phelps added seven.
Zeeland West 32, East Grand Rapids 22
The Dux won their season opener at home.
Sadie Kragt had nine points and Jenna Hendricks added seven for the Dux.
Fennville 48, Comstock 32
The Blackhawks won their season opener in decisive fashion.
Ceeley Howard had 17 points and five assists. Amiyah Johnson scored 14. Veda Seward had eight rebounds. Leslie Hernandez chipped in six points.
Sacred Heart 46, Black River 41
The River Rats were led by a senior trio of Delyla Martinez with 17 pointsl=, Meghan Davis with seven, and Camden Davis with seven.
The Rats had their chances but went 6-for-18 from the free-throw line.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Holland Christian 60, Calvin Christian 39
The Maroons improved to 1-1 with the non-conference win.
Titus Spencer scored 20 points to lead the Maroons, while Jake Holcomb had 19 and Moses Vanderbilt added seven.
“It was a great team win,” Holland Christian coach Brad Jansen said. “We played great defense on the road against a physical Calvin team.”
Coopersville 61, Hamilton 35
The Hawkeyes lost the non-conference matchup after falling behind early, 15-5.
Carter Hickock led Hamilton with 11 points and Garner Hulst had seven.
Calvary 56, Saugatuck 41
The Crusaders defeated the Trailblazers in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Parchment 62, Saugatuck 27
The Trailblazers lost the boys game on Monday, Dec.8.
“We need to get better in all areas of the game and mentally, we need to be tougher,” Saugatuck coach Ty Rock said. “We have to learn how to compete.”
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa, Hamilton, Holland Christian and Zeeland girls all win
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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