Warriors Give Up Lead, but

Defeat Covenant in Overtime

The Western Michigan Christian girls basketball team defeated host Covenant Christian in overtime Tuesday night by a final score of 46-43.

WMC led 9-4 through the first quarter, 17-10 at halftime and 26-20 heading into the final frame. There, Covenant made a run, tying the game 28-28 with five minutes left to play. The tie would hold to the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime.

The Warriors jumped out to a four-point lead to start the overtime period, but watched that lead shrink down the stretch. A split-trip to the free-throw line for Covenant made it a one-score game with 35 seconds left. WMC controlled the final possession and scored, bringing the game to its final tally.

Anna Systema scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Warriors, while Taylor Folkema had 16 points and four steals. Meghan Heiss kept the scoring pace with Covenant in the 3rd and 4th quarter by going 7-7 from the line.  She scored all 9 of her points in the second half.

The win improves the Warriors to 12-1 overall.

“The Chargers outworked us all night,” said WMC head coach Jeremy Goorman. “They had multiple second and third chances at the basket. They were very aggressive and luckily, we hit foul shots when we needed to. Anna hit 4-of-4 free throws in overtime and Taylor Folkema was 2-for-2 from the stripe in overtime.

"The Chargers double-teamed Taylor all night and made it difficult on her. She finished strong with 10 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. I was expecting a difficult game coming in because of their size and I was proud of the girls for pulling out a victory where we could have easily folded. I know my big three can score, but I need to get my others to become threats.

"Kayla Johnson, Esther Hartley and Peyton Allen are all spark plugs, but we need production in the scorebook from them. They are capable and I have to put them in position to score.”