LocalSportsJournal.com

MUSKEGON — Spring Lake’s girls basketball team swept the competition it faced in the district tournament at Orchard View, finishing the job Friday night with a 44-32 victory over Montague for the title at Oakridge.

It was a grinding game by both teams, and the Lakers finally shifted their offense into high gear in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Wildcats.

Montague grabbed a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Lakers answered with an 11-7 edge in the second and went into the halftime break with a narrow 18-17 edge.

Spring Lake then outscored Montague, 9-5 in the third period to stretch its lead to five points, 27-22 going into the fourth quarter. The Lakers had a seven-point advantage, 17-10 in the final eight minutes to pull away.

Chaire Meacham paced the Wildcats, who finished the season 18-5, with 11 points and nine rebounds. Kendall Osborne added six points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Emma Peterson finished with three points and two rebounds.

“Congratulations to Spring Lake on winning the district championship,” said Montague coach Nick Thaler. “They played great in the second half.

“We had too many turnovers that led to points for them. They converted 21 points off 24 turnovers. That was difficult to overcome.

“We had a very nice season. We have a young core group, and will return six players next season, as well as some players from the junior varsity team who had a nice season as well. The future looks bright.”

Jennifer Judge paced the Lakers with 16 points. Meah Bajt added 12 points, hauled down six rebounds and dished out four assists. Alexa Carter chipped in with eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Lakers bumped their record up to 14-8 on the season, and next face Newaygo next Tuesday in the regional tournament which is being hosted by Orchard View.

Montague saw a three-game winning streak snapped, and it ended its season 17-5.