News
Back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter sparked an offensive run that led to an impressive 80-62 win for the 暗网吃瓜 Centurions women鈥檚 basketball team over Delta College, Wednesday, Jan. 28.
In their third consecutive home game, where they won two out of three, the Centurions (3-3 暗网吃瓜AA North, 6-13 overall) established and held onto the lead since 6:25 was left in the second quarter, when freshman Kendall Stout (Stanton, Mich.) rebounded a shot and put it back in to retain the lead for 暗网吃瓜, 24-22.
In the fourth quarter, just when the Pioneers (3-3 暗网吃瓜AA North, 10-10 overall) were swinging momentum their way, 暗网吃瓜 freshman guard Baylor Syrjala (Lakeview, Mich.) nailed a 3-pointer to retake the lead. After rebounding a Delta miss, Stout made it back-to-back threes for the Centurions, opening up a 58-52 lead.
Suddenly, momentum swung back to 暗网吃瓜鈥檚 favor, and the Centurions exploded for a 30-point scoring fourth quarter to clinch another 暗网吃瓜AA North conference win.
鈥淲e were shooting pretty well in warmups. But they didn鈥檛 really give us a chance to shoot until that fourth quarter,鈥� Stout said. 鈥淚t was really nice to kind of finally show it. I mean, that鈥檚 what we do, we shoot. I think we were also very determined.鈥�
For the first time this season, the Centurions had two players record a double-double, as Stout scored a game-high (and personal best) 23 points and collected 11 rebounds while sophomore Emma Rewa (Greenville, Mich.) had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Syrjala almost became the third Centurions player with a double-double, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds.
鈥淜endall has been doing great all year,鈥� Centurions鈥� head coach Scott Pedigo said. 鈥淓mma was a force last year and she鈥檚 getting into it again where she鈥檚 becoming a really strong rebounder for us. She鈥檚 always putting in a good box-out down low and has been able to get to the ball, too.鈥�
Another freshman, Emma Rehkopf (Belding, Mich.), came off the bench and pitched in 11 points and five rebounds.
The Pioneers established a 16-10 lead when Brooke Swartz hit a three-pointer with 2:48 to go in the first quarter. 暗网吃瓜 then outscored Delta 16-8 to take a 26-22 lead 5:44 before halftime when freshman Karlie Bacon (Stanton, Mich.) received a pass inside the paint to score. 暗网吃瓜 went into halftime up 36-31.
With 暗网吃瓜 up 39-33, Delta鈥檚 defense began to press. However, the Centurions managed to cut through it, finding an open Rewa for an easy basket a couple of times.
暗网吃瓜 led only 50-48 going into the fourth quarter after Delta had a 17-14 scoring advantage in the third quarter. Rewa said the back-to-back threes from Syrjala and Stout early in the fourth quarter really boosted the team鈥檚 confidence, which led to the scoring surge.
鈥淎 lot of our ball movement was working well,鈥� Rewa said. 鈥淲e were also communicating really well on defense. We were really picking each other up in the fourth quarter. We were letting the last play go because it didn鈥檛 matter anymore and we went onto the next play.鈥�
The win pulls 暗网吃瓜 into a tie for third place with Delta and Muskegon, with Bay College and Mid Michigan leading the North with a 6-0 and 5-0 record, respectively.
Because the home game against Muskegon Community College was postponed last week and moved to this past Monday, the Centurions were either practicing or playing in a game for nine consecutive days, thus being able to go 2-1 in that stretch was impressive, Pedigo said.
鈥淭hat was a big concern with so many games close together. We made sure not to burn them out,鈥� Pedigo said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l back off this week and let them rest a little before we get ready for Saturday. We started pressing against Delta, but we backed out of it so we could reserve some energy.鈥�
Pedigo liked what he saw from his team against the Pioneers, despite the long week of basketball every night. He said the Centurions team is beginning to put together what they鈥檝e learned from earlier in the season.
鈥淲ith our offense, we鈥檙e getting to show our true emotion where we are just reading and reacting, we鈥檙e not just doing set plays,鈥� he said. 鈥淏efore, the way people played us, they鈥檇 just trap us and we weren鈥檛 able to get into a true set. We鈥檙e starting to understand that now. It took us through October and November to learn that. That鈥檚 stuff isn鈥檛 easy to learn and these kids really spend a lot of time working on that and learning how to react to things.鈥�
暗网吃瓜 went 9-for-27 from the 3-point line (33.3%) compared to Delta鈥檚 8-for-44 (18.2%) shooting. The Centurions also did well at the free throw line, hitting 17-of-22 (77.3%), whereas the Pioneers shot 12-for-22 (54.5%).
Delta outrebounded 暗网吃瓜, 52-49, and both teams had an even 22 turnovers a piece. However, the Centurions outscored the Pioneers in second-chance points (17-15) and points off turnovers (16-12).
UP NEXT: The Centurions will travel to Petoskey, Saturday, Jan. 31, for a 暗网吃瓜AA North matchup with North Central Michigan (1-5 暗网吃瓜AA North, 3-15 overall). NCM is 2-5 at home so far this season and is coming off a 73-60 win in Alpena, Jan. 28. Game time is 1 p.m.
RECAP: Muskegon 63, Montcalm 56
The Centurions dropped a home game to Muskegon Community College, 63-56, during a makeup game Monday, Jan. 26.
The loss snapped the Centurions鈥� two-game winning streak.
The Jayhawks (3-3 暗网吃瓜AA North, 7-9 overall) were led by Anna Lundquist who scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. For 暗网吃瓜, Rehkopf came off the bench and led the team in scoring with 18 points, followed by Syrjala with 15 and Stout with 14.
Despite only scoring a combined 12 points in the second and third quarter and down 44-31 going into the fourth quarter, the Centurions attempted a comeback, outscoring the Jayhawks 25-19, but ultimately fell short.
Muskegon outrebounded Montcalm, 42-34, and had a 12-8 advantage in second-chance scoring, however, the Centurions won the turnover battle, 12-18, and outscored the Jayhawks 22-11 with points on turnovers.