By Greg Gielczyk 
LocalSportsJournal.com 

SCOTTVILLE — The Mason County Central Spartans used a big third quarter to establish command of the game and finished with a huge 56-42 non-conference girls basketball win Wednesday night over Glen Lake.

Glen Lake is the defending state champions in Division 4.

With their home crowd raising the roof all night, the Spartans showed great energy up and down the lineup despite a snow day that closed school. 

But it took what Coach Brian Beebe said was the Spartans’ best third quarter of the season for the Spartans to finally separate from the Lakers. And a 26-point performance from Mallory Miller didn’t hurt one bit.

The Spartans held a slim 25-21 lead at the half, but then charged out for the third quarter, shut down the Lakers outside game and outscored them, 15-5, to mount a 40-26 lead. 

Grace Weinert, a senior guard, led the Spartans’ charge with 11 points in the quarter, hitting a pair of 3-pointers while Jessica Peterson knocked down another. Weinert finished with 13 points.

Central was able to weather a late surge by the Lakers in the fourth quarter. 

“We try to challenge ourselves with our non-conference schedule and playing these kinds of games only helps us,” Beebe said. “It shows us where we’re good at, and where we need to improve. 

“I’m proud of our kids for accepting the challenges that we put in front of them. Grace Weinert and Jessica Petersen did a great job tonight on both ends of the floor. They defended their perimeter players well and knocked down some huge shots for us in the third quarter.” 

Miller, a junior point guard, hit the 20-point mark in scoring for the fourth time this season. She made plays down the stretch with the ball in her hand. She made four 3-pointers in the first half. 

“She’s really shooting the ball well for us, but she’s picking and choosing her spots, whether she needs to attack and is getting us into our offense,” added Beebe. “Glen Lake plays a couple of really good zone traps, and we ask a lot of Mallory with ball in hand to make good decisions for us and get us an offense.” 

The Lakers focused on slowing Wren Nelson, the Spartans’ 6-foot-4 senior center, down inside but she still finished with 11 rebounds and five blocked shots while scoring nine points. 

Central is 7-1 and plays in the Cadillac Showcase, where the Spartans play Gaylord at noon Saturday.