By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com

MANISTEE — Pine River tied the score at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Manistee girls basketball team was able to pull away for a rugged 43-38 non-conference win Monday night.

The game was played in Manistee.

It was the kind of game that gives a coach heartburn, as both teams struggled to put the ball in the hole and make free throws, making for a sometimes ugly performance.

But it was two free throws by Libby McCarthy with just 56 seconds left in the game that sealed the deal for the Chippewas, and then defense put it away.

“I was really pleased, especially with the way we held our composure at the end managed to play some pretty tough defense and not let them score,” said Manistee head coach Kenn Kott.

“That was the key part. We kept moving the ball as much as possible. I think we took some ill advised shots that maybe we shouldn’t have near the end of the game.”

Pine River drew first blood, hitting a 3-point shot at the start of the game to take a 3-0 lead.

The Chippewas went on a 7-0 run, capped by an putback bucket by Abby Robinson, to push ahead, 11-5 late in the opening quarter.

After the Bucks closed the gap to two, 11-9, the Chippewas hit another offensive spurt, Maria Bialik sinking a pair of free throws and Brooke Jankwietz returning a rebound up for a bucket to restore a six-point lead, 15-9.

The Bucks made it 15-11, but the Chippewas answered with a basket from Bialik and a free throw by Jankwietz to take an 18-13 lead at the horn.

Manistee scored the first four points of the second quarter to take a nine-point lead, 22-13. The Bucks cut the gap to two again, 24-22 with 3:12 left in the first half.

Pine River eventually went to the locker room with a 29-25 edge at intermission and the Bucks opened the second half scoring to increase its lead to 31-25.

The Chippewas went on an 8-0 run to finish the third period, Jayna Edmondson slipping underneath for a big basket and Jankwietz adding a free throw, as Manistee led, 33-31 going into the fourth period.

The Bucks tied it, 33-33 on two free throws, before the Chippewas went ahead for good, 35-33 when McCarthy scored out of a loose ball scramble.

Defense kept the Bucks from gaining any traction late.

“Our half court people were doing a nice job, and I told them any time you can get a trap going it’s a good situation,” added Kott. “They let them go down the middle a couple too many times, but any time they went to the sideline we were there. You not only have to trap at half court, you have to make the steals behind it, and they were doing that, too.”

McCarthy scored 14 points to lead the Chippewas while Edmondson had nine and Bialik contributed six points.

Robinson had eight steals. McCarthy led with eight rebounds and Kelley had seven.

The Chippewas (1-0) host Mason County Central on Tuesday night in a West Michigan Conference crossover game.