By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com
HOLTON — The Mason County Central girls basketball team steamrolled the Red Devils for a big 53-30 West Michigan Conference Rivers Division victory Friday night in Holton.
The Red Devils forged a 10-4 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Spartans took off in the second.
Back-to-back 3-pointers knocked down by Jessica Peterson started the Spartans’ run. That ignited a 17-4 run that vaulted them into a 21-14 halftime lead.
A 15-12 edge in the third quarter extended the Spartans lead to 10 points, 36-26, and they finished the Red Devils off with a 17-4 fourth quarter.
“Really proud of our kids for answering the bell tonight,” Spartan coach Brian Beebe said. “Holton played an outstanding first quarter and was aggressive on both ends of floor. We were able to compose ourselves, take care of the ball and played outstanding inside-out basketball over the final three quarters.
“Wren (Nelson) and Mallory (Miller) scored the ball well in the second half, but a chunk of the credit goes to their teammates for looking for them offensively,” Beebe said. “Wren had her eighth double-double of the season tonight and Mallory picked her spots well in the second half against their zone.”
Beebe went on to say that Peterson gives the Spartans much on defense and is “really turning into a solid two-way player for us.” Grace Weinert played some good ball defense in the second half to keep the Spartans’ momentum going.
Nelson ended with 20 points, 11 rebounds and added two blocked shots. Miller canned three 3-pointers and scored 15 points.
Weinert and Eva Hradel added six points apiece for the Spartans.
Central is now 10-2 overall after its third straight win, 6-1 in the conference. The Spartans have a non-conference game scheduled at Reed City on Tuesday.
Holton saw its two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-3 overall and 3-3 in the conference. The Red Devils travel to Lakeview Tuesday for a non-conference game.
