By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com
MANISTEE — The game appeared to be over when the Benzie Central girls’ basketball team took a 10-point lead with less than two minutes left in Thursday night’s non-conference contest in Manistee.
But, the Mariners weren’t ready to wave the white flag and came storming back, cutting their deficit to just one point, 33-32 with 1:44 to play.
Forced to foul the Huskies with so little time left, the Mariners picked the wrong girl to send to the line as Flora Zickert cooly sank four straight to clinch Benzie’s 37-32 win.
“The girls showed a lot of grit, especially in that fourth quarter,” said Manistee coach Kenn Kott. “We had tired legs, but they were giving it their all.
“We put ourselves in position several times to make the shot to possibly win the game, but I think what it boils down to is the first half we shot 2-for-16 from 3s. You can’t shoot 12 percent in the first half and expect to take the lead at halftime and win a game.
“I can’t complain about any of the looks. They were all great looks, great shots, and the girls will take them every time. They just didn’t go in the first half.”
Manistee broke a 7-7 tie to take an 8-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Benzie rallied to lead 15-10 at the half. The Huskies finished the third period with an 8-0 run and led 30-20 into the fourth.
Jayna Edmondson led the Mariners with 12 points and Libby McCarthy added 10 point and 10 rebounds. Alayna Edmondson had three assists and five steals.
Manistee fell to 8-11 overall and travels to Fremont for a West Michigan Conference Lakes Division game Friday night.
