By Andrew Johnson
LocalSportsJournal.com
MUSKEGON – The Fruitport Calvary Christian girls basketball team had a lot of energy to burn off in Friday night’s Class D district championship game.
The Eagles had a bye in the first round of the tournament, then won the semifinals without taking the court when Kent City Algoma Christian forfeited the game.
So the Eagles were more than ready to play Muskegon Catholic in the finals.
They opened the game with a 13-point run and never looked back, claiming a 65-48 victory over the Crusaders to claim the district championship.
Calvary Christian, which won the title on its home court, now advances to Tuesday’s regional semifinals against Portland St. Patrick at Big Rapids Crossroads Academy.
“I’ve never heard of a team forfeiting a day before the game, and it hurt us, but having said that, the way we came out in the first quarter makes it hard to argue that it hurt us,” said Eagles Coach Brad Richards, whose team is now 19-3 on the season.
Senior standout Taylor Richards led the way for the Eagles with a game-high 29 points.
“This is a special night for us because we’ve had a long journey to get here, and it’s truly a family atmosphere here at Calvary,” Taylor Richards said.
The game calmed down a bit after Calvary’s opening 13-0 run, and the Eagles led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter and 36-21 at halftime.
Taylor Richards led the first half Eagle uprising with 12 points while Allyson Richard and Hannah Roberts each had eight.
Calvary opened the third quarter with a 13-6 run. MCC called time out, then responded with a 10-3 run, but still trailed 52-37 at the third buzzer.
The Crusaders opened the fourth quarter with an 8-4 run in the first three minutes, but the effort wasn’t enough to get them back in the game.
Taylor Richards had 17 points in the second half for Calvary.
Roberts finished with 15 points for Calvary Christian.
Hailee McKenna led Muskegon Catholic with 16 points.