Hart makes it 20 straight victories and now a district crown after victory over rival Shelby

 

SCOTTVILLE – Hart extended its winning streak to 20 games behind a smothering defense to knock off a depleted Shelby squad 41-27 to claim a Division 3 district girls basketball title.

 

The Tigers were without their starting point guard, Michelle Peterson, for Friday’s final. She reaggravating an ankle injury in Wednesday’s semifinal, and the Pirates used full-court pressure and double teamed in the half court to great success.

 

Hart (23-1) forced 10 turnovers in the opening quarter and 27 for the game, and used a 13-0 run that spanned the first and second quarters to open up a double-digit advantage. The Pirates led by as many as 17 in the third quarter and never allowed Shelby to get back into the game.

 

“Shelby wasn’t 100 percent, but we prepared like they were going to be. We just had to take care of business. Anytime it’s Shelby-Hart it’s going to be competitive,” Hart coach Travis Rosema said. “Just proud of the girls for the way they executed. Even though we all make mistakes, we always bounced back and had an answer. We knew without Peterson, they’d have other people handling the ball so we wanted to make them uncomfortable.”

 

Addison Hovey finished with 13 points to lead Hart and spent much of the night guarding Shelby’s top scorer, Jayna Burmeister. Rilynn Porter added 10 points for the Pirates with Reese Smith right behind with nine. Burmeister scored a game-high 15 to lead Shelby (19-5) and grabbed 14 rebounds.

 

The Pirates will face Sanford-Meridian (21-3) in Monday’s regional semifinal at 7 p.m. at Beal City. Rosema noted that the Mustangs have a standout scorer and the regional tournament will be even more difficult. On the other side of the bracket, Evart (22-2) faces off against Roscommon (16-6) in the first regional semifinal.

 

Shelby got a basket form Kylie Brown and a triple from Ava Lamberg to open up a 5-2 lead. But Hart got five points from Porter to spark the 13-0 run that opened up a 15-5 lead early in the second quarter. Another Burmeister basket late in the second quarter cut the lead back into single digits, but Porter tacked on another basket before halftime to give Hart a 22-11 lead.

 

“Everyone had to play a different role than they had all season without a point guard. It put Jayna in a tough position where she couldn’t go in and rebound as much, and my guards had to handle the ball a little more. I told them when we went in (to the locker room), ‘The one thing we have to do is handle the ball so if our point guard gets hurt, we’ve got other people that can handle it,” said Shelby coach Sarah Wolting. “For being put in weird position and having to run different plays, I’m proud of my girls. They’re going to fight and they did fight. Defensively, they never gave up.”

 

The third basket from Hovey in the third quarter opened up the Pirates’ biggest lead of the game, 35-18, off an assist from Porter. The Pirates were able to spread the floor in the fourth quarter, burning precious seconds off the clock before taking a shot.

 

“(The defense) was huge, particularly in the second half. Addi got a steal, got a layup. Next possession, we hit a 3 and that put us up 16,” said Rosema. 

 

Breslyn Porter finished with five steals and four rebounds for the Pirates, while Hovey collected three steals.

 

Aside from Burmeister, Lamberg was the only other Tiger to score more than a basket. Lamberg netted five points, with Annabelle Stark finished with three rebounds and three steals. Shelby hopes to use this loss as a learning experience as it will return all 11 players on the postseason roster.