By Greg Gielczyk

LocalSportsJournal.com
 
MANISTEE — Manistee’s girls basketball team got off to a hot start, largely behind the scoring of Libby McCarthy, and then used a solid defensive game to run past visiting Ravenna, 50-23 Tuesday night in a non-conference game at Manistee.
 
Shooting over the top of the Bulldogs defense for a pair of 3-point buckets and 13 points overall in the first quarter, while the defense was forcing Ravenna into numerous turnovers, the Chippewas exploded for a 19-7 first quarter.
 
That, for all intents and purposes, was the ball game. Manistee just built on its lead the rest of the way, and although the Bulldogs kept battling, they could not stem the tide.
 
“It was definitely a fast start to the game for us, and we needed that,” said Manistee head coach Kenn Kott. “Our defense really played well, and I thought our offense kept pace in the first half, too.
 
“The offense slowed down a little bit in the second half, but our defense never did. That’s a credit to these girls, and the nice thing about it is they were able to do it without fouling as much as they fouled in the last game.”
 
Manistee had more balanced scoring in the second quarter, with McCarthy netting four more points and Jayna Edmondson scoring three, and outscored Ravenna, 16-4 to build a substantial 35-11 lead at the half.
 
Manistee led, 42-20 going into the fourth period.
 
“These kids are getting better and better at adjusting to different things,” said Kott. “We can throw different sets and different looks, it’s never the same thing.
 
“We’re learning to play with our feet, and not our hands.”
 
McCarthy finished with 17 points to lead the Chippewas, while Edmondson had 10, Allison Kelley chipped in 8 and Abby Robinson 7.
 
Robinson cleaned the glass for 7 rebounds while Edmondson, McCarthy and Kelley had 5 apiece. Kelley had 5 steals, Lacey Zimmerman picked off 4 and Robinson 3.
 
Zimmerman, McCarthy and Kelley dished out 3 assists apiece while Edmondson passed off for 2.
 
Abby Gillard scored 6 points for the Bulldogs.
 
Manistee improved to 4-3 on the season and is back in action Thursday night for a girls-boys doubleheader hosting Shelby in non-conference action.
 
Ravenna fell to 2-3 with the loss, and is next scheduled to play at Catholic Central on Thursday in non-conference play.