LocalSportsJournal.com
Hart held off a second-half comeback by Whitehall to preserve a 37-25 victory in a WMC girls basketball matchup on Friday. 
The Pirates got off to a strong start and showed resilience against Whitehall.
Hart led 11-4 after the first quarter behind a pair of Chloe Coker 3-pointers. Coker finished with six points on the night. A defensive second quarter led to a 17-7 Pirates lead at the half.
Hart turned up the heat in the second half, taking a 26-12 lead.
However, Whitehall closed the third quarter strong closing the gap to a nine points deficit, 31-22.
The Vikings kept battling and got within three points in the fourth quarter. But Hart was able to get some easy buckets in transition and closed out the game at the free throw line.
Hart’s offense was led by Addi Hovey with 13 points and seven rebounds. Morgan Marvin tacked on eight points and eight rebounds while Aspen Boutell had three assists.
The Pirates defense was arguably more impressive throughout the ballgame. Marvin had an astounding eight blocks on the evening while Hovey added three of her own. Mariana VanAgtmael and Boutell had six steals apiece
Hart improves to 5-1 and 4-0 and sits atop the WMC conference. It travels to North Muskegon on January 6th for their next contest.
Whitehall drops to 2-4 and 2-2 in the WMC conference. The Vikings next travel to Fruitport on January 4th.
