LocalSportsJournal.com
ALLENDALE – Spring Lake and Hudsonville Unity Christian’s girls basketball teams split their two regular-season meetings this season.
In the win-or-go-home rubber match, the Lakers closed strong down the stretch to eliminate the Crusaders and keep their season alive.
Tied at 41-apiece in the fourth quarter, Spring Lake closed the contest on a 12-5 run to capture a 53-46 victory in the Division 2 district semifinal contest at Allendale High School. The Lakers advance to Friday’s championship against either the host Falcons or Oakridge.
Against the Crusaders, Spring Lake grabbed an 11-8 lead after one quarter and pushed its advantage to six, 25-19, at the half.
The Crusaders tightened the contest in the third and the two teams were deadlocked early in the fourth.
Junior guard Ella Andree led the Lakers with 14 points and four rebounds, while Alexa Carter tallied a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Lakers’ coach Rich Hyde said his team battled foul trouble and injuries throughout the game and received big contributions off the bench from sophomores Nia Theune (eight points, six rebounds), Ellie Wrona (seven points) and Tessa Britt (five points, three rebounds). Emma Nicles also scored six for Spring Lake, which improves to 11-10 overall.
