LocalSportsJournal.com

LUDINGTON — A fast start helped propel the Ludington girls’ basketball team to a convincing 43-27 victory over Oakridge in its West Michigan Conference Lakes Division opener Thursday night.

Warming up their home crowd early, the Orioles jumped out to a 14-4 first-quarter lead and outscored the Eagles in each of the last three periods.

But scoring was considerably closer after that, with the Eagles making it much tougher on the Orioles.

Ludington forged a 9-8 edge in the second quarter and went into the half with a 23-12 lead. The Orioles had a 10-6 edge in the third and led, 33-18 entering the fourth.

Elianna Jeruzal scored 14 points to lead the Orioles. Peyton Welch and Jordyn Anderson added eight apiece.

Anna Lundquist paced the Eagles with 12 points, 14 rebounds and seven steals while Kaelinn Jozsa finished with seven points and eight rebounds.

The Orioles evened their record at 1-1 overall and are 1-0 in the conference, with a road game at Montague scheduled for next Tuesday.