LocalSportsJournal.com

NORTON SHORES – It is not who jumps out to an early lead who gets the worm in basketball.

It’s the team that has the lead at the end of the game. 

Western Michigan Christian girls’ basketball was on the right side of the lead on Tuesday night in its rivalry matchup with visiting Muskegon Catholic Central. 

The Warriors fell behind early on, but managed to claw its way back for a 27-20 win over MCC. 

“I challenged the girls to continue to push on defense,” said first-year WMC coach Tyler Ray. “We tied it up 20-20 and we made seven straight free throws to end it.”
 
MCC built a 7-0 lead to start the night, but the Warriors’ defense kept them in the game and came through when it mattered the most, in the fourth quarter. 

WMC managed to shut out the Crusaders from scoring in the fourth quarter and came through with key buckets to improve their record to 4-0. 

“It was just stick to the plan,” said Ray. “We knew we needed our defense to generate some offense and it was just digging in.”

A 3-point play by Maddie Folkema with just under three minutes left in the game gave WMC its first lead of the night, 23-20. The Warriors then sank their last four free throws to seal the win. Maria Eenigenburg drained her two foul shots and Folkema drained two more in the final 30 seconds of the night. 

The Crusaders led 9-4 after the first quarter and 15-13 at halftime. They added to their lead early in the third on a 3-pointer from Andrea Johnson. MCC managed just five points in the third but held the Warriors to countless turnovers for a 20-17 lead to start the final eight minutes. 

Folkema finished with nine points while Eenigenberg put up eight points. Leonna Kotecki paced MCC with seven points and Johnson finished with five. 

WMC will be back in action on Friday when it hosts 9-1 Ravenna while the Crusaders head to GR Zion Christian on Thursday.

Photos by Randy Riksen.