LocalSportsJournal.com
MESICK — Mason County Eastern wasn’t able to make a full comeback in its 41-38 loss to Mesick in girls basketball on Thursday.
the Cardinals battled back from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter of the West Michigan D League matchup.
Eastern knotted the game up, 36-36 and later 38-38 and had possession of the ball at the end to tie or take the lead. A turnover forced the Cardinals to foul to get the ball back and could not complete the comeback.
“I was proud of how they overcame the deficit and continued to fight until the end,” said Eastern head coach Jake Smith. “We struggled getting our offense flowing early, and turned the ball over aaginst their pressure.
“Then, we came out flat in the second quarter and they hit some shots. We were down by 16 in the third quarter, but continued to fight and battled back to tie it 36-36 late in the fourth.
“The girls deserve credit for staying in the game. They easily could have given up, but they fought to the end and came up one possession short.”
Both teams scored six points in the first quarter, and then Mesick rolled up a 17-6 advantage in the second to build a 23-12 lead at the half.
The Cardinals picked things up in the third, but still lost the period by a 13-10 margin and headed into the fourth with a 36-22 deficit. Eastern outscored the Bulldogs, 16-5 in the final eight minutes.
Deann Codman, Olivia Wing and Maria Gomez-Jimenez scored eight points apiece to lead the Cardinals. Wing contributed two assists and five rebounds.
Codman picked off four steals. Janessa Alvesteffer had Gomez-Jiminez pulled down 10 rebounds apiece, while Gomez-Jiminez had three steals.
Mason County Estern (7-9, 6-7) will host Baldwin on Tuesday.
