LocalSportsJournal.com
WALKERVILLE — Records don’t matter when Pentwater and Walkerville play in girls basketball, and that was the case Friday night when the Falcons visited the Wildcats in the West Michigan D League.
After trailing the Wildcats, 9-5 at the end of the first quarter the Falcons calmed down and began to execute better offensively, finishing with a 34-18 victory.
“It’s a very exciting way to start the second half of the league schedule,” said Pentwater head coach Joe Gorton. “That being said, we know we have some tough roads ahead if we can’t find a way to put the ball in the basket, especially when we earn good looks and free throws.
“We left a ton of bunnies on the floor tonight. Lots of missed layups, and lots of missed free throws. We just couldn’t seem to get our heads straight, missing good look after good look.”
It was then that senior leader Jocelyn Richison stepped up, scoring eight of the Falcons 10 points in the second quarter, broke Walkerville’s press and caused havoc on defense. Walkerville did not score a point in the second as the Falcons took a 15-9 lead at the half. The Falcons also forced the Wildcats into some foul trouble.
Pentwater continued its success breaking the Walkerville press in the third quarter, and also finished with transition layups as the Falcons outscored Walkerville, 12-2 for a 27-11 lead going into the fourth.
Richison finished the night with 13 points to lead the Falcons while McKenna Hasil added seven and Marissa Sayles five.
Charlie Swanger pulled down seven rebounds dished out two assists. Audrey Kieda hauled down six rebounds and had two steals. Sayles and Samantha Schaefer each had five rebounds and two steals.
Pentwater improved to 5-8 overall and 5-6 in the WMD, and are idle now until next Thursday when the Falcons host undefeated Brethren (13-0, 9-0 WMD).
Walkerville fell to 1-11 overall and 1-9 in the league. The Wildcats visit Marion for another league game on Thursday night.
