By Craig Beilfuss
LocalSportsJournal.com

HART—The Hart Pirates put the finishing touches on a perfect 2021-2022 West Michigan Conference season on Thursday evening.

The host Pirates earned a 47-35 victory over the Oakridge Eagles.

A quick start by the Lady Pirates was exactly what Hart coach Travis Rosema was looking for. And they needed it because Rosema was not too pleased with the final three quarters.

“I give Oakridge and Coach Wahr a ton of credit, they showed up and competed tonight,” said Rosema. “Hopefully this will act as a wakeup call for us as we enter postseason play. The girls need to understand that we have to show up every night.”

Hart came out quickly and scored the game’s first 12 points. By quarter’s end, Hart led 20-5.

Hart set the tone by hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter. Junior Mariana VanAgtmael led the surge with eight points, including two shots from long distance. VanAgtmael finished with a game-high 17 points and seven steals.

Oakridge closed the deficit to 27-17 by halftime thanks to a 12-7 scoring advantage.

Hart increased their lead to 36-22 after three quarters as freshman Addison Hovey and VanAgtmael accounted for all nine of the Pirates points in the quarter.

The Eagles stayed within striking distance in the final quarter, but could not overcome the Pirates’ early advantage. Despite his team’s lackluster performance in the final three quarters, Rosema was pleased his team finished off the victory and therefore completed an undefeated league slate.

Hovey and senior Morgan Marvin each finished with nine points for Hart. Junior Aspen Boutell chipped in eight points. Hovey had a team-high eight rebounds along with five steals. Marvin grabbed four rebounds to go with six steals and three blocked shots. Boutell had four assists and three steals.

Junior Destyni Lane led Oakridge with 13 points and seven steals. Sophomore Anna Lundquist tossed in seven points and grabbed seven rebounds and junior Andrea Romero-Serrano chipped in with five points, two steals and two rebounds.

Hart finishes the regular season with a 16-3 overall record, 14-0 in the West Michigan Conference. The Lady Pirates will be back in action at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Holton in Division 3 district basketball action. Hart will play the winner of Monday evening’s contest between Hesperia and Holton.

Oakridge finishes the regular season at 7-13 overall record, 6-8 in the conference. The Eagles open district play at 7 p.m. Monday with a home game against Fruitport.