Spring Lake Halts Warrior Win Streak at 10

By Grand Haven Tribune Staff

The Spring Lake girls basketball team made the most of their Saturday primetime slot, handing Western Michigan Christian their first loss of the season, 39-33.

A slow start for the Lakers reflected their workload this week. Saturday’s tip-off was the third for Spring Lake in four days. WMC led 12-7 at the first break. Meanwhile, the Warriors came to play, grabbing an early lead and hanging around through halftime before the Lakers put together a monster third-quarter to put the game out of reach.

WMC led 12-7 at first break and trailed 25-20 at halftime before falling behind 38-25 in the third. Spring Lake scored just one point in the fourth, giving the Warriors a route back into the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Meghan Heiss closed the gap to six points with two minutes to play, but it was too little, too late.

Madeline Zenas led Spring Lake with 11 points, followed by Jenna Core and Abbi Perkins with nine each, Phoebe Saunders with six and Laney Peasley and Jennifer Judge with two apiece.

Heiss led the Warriors with 12 points on four 3-pointers, ahead of Taylor Folkema with 10, Anna Sytsema with nine and Alyssa Eekhoff with two.

A quick bucket on their first possession, plus a 3-pointer by Meghan Heiss, some transition work and a three-point play by Taylor Folkema gave WMC an 8-3 lead early. Spring Lake’s bucket came off an and-1 by Madeline Zenas before they got stuck at three points for most of the period.

By the end of the first, the Warriors led 12-7 after a few steals by Phoebe Saunders earned points.

As both offenses got warmed up in the second quarter, things went back and forth, with ties from 12-12 all the way to 20-20.

The Lakers scored five unanswered to end the half, finishing with a 40-foot buzzer-beating shot by Jenna Core, to take a 25-20 lead into halftime.

In the third, Spring Lake’s zone defense wreaked havoc on WMC, while their offense really started to run and bigs started to take over inside. The third quarter would go to the Lakers, 13-5, putting them in the driver’s seat down the stretch.

A pair of 3-pointers by Heiss put the game back in the balance late, after the Warriors made up a few points playing the foul game in the final two minutes. Disciplined Spring Lake defense and a crucial travel by WMC on their final possession neutralized the comeback, securing the Warriors’ first loss and the Lakers’ second win in as many days.

Spring Lake improves to 5-5 overall and returns to action Friday at Grand Rapids Catholic Central. The Warriors fall to 10-1 and will return to the court Friday to host Muskegon Catholic Central.