Reeths-Puffer girls come up short in 54-53 road loss to Zeeland West

Both teams found offensive success in the opening quarter as the Dux jumped out to a 15-13 lead after one quarter of action.

The Rockets continued their attack on the basket, but also found some focus to buckle down on defense and contain the Dux holding them to just 10 points while scoring 15 points of their in the second stanza to roll into halftime with a 28-25 halftime lead.

The break gave no benefit to the Rockets as they came out flat in the third quarter all around.

They struggled in their offense and displayed holes in their defense allowing the Zeeland West to have a 13-4 third quarter scoring advantage and ended up trailing 38-32 entering the final eight minutes.

The Rockets refused to give in and wave the white flag, especially in a crucial conference matchup. The squad was running with a newfound energy finding their best offensive production of the night as they racked up 21 fourth quarter points. Unfortunately, the Rockets needed to hold the Dux offense tighter and try to limit their possessions, but Zeeland West scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to spoil the comeback.

Sophia Hekkema led the Rockets offense with a double-double on the night as she led all scorers with 20 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, snagged three steals and made two blocks.

Brooklyn Tornes posted 13 points, six rebounds and three steals while Arionna Williams chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists. Ariel Walker tossed in 10 points.

Reeths-Puffer falls to 10-5 overall with a 5-1 record in the O-K Green and is set for more league play on Tuesday, February when they host the Mona Shores Sailors.