Reese Freshman Sophee Robinson looks for a scoring lane against USA. Robinson would finish 10 points in the win.
By Tom Gilchrist
Sports Editor
SEBEWAING — Reese’s girls basketball team took a punch from Unionville-Sebewaing Area here Thursday night — after Reese had landed the first blow in the battle of Greater Thumb Conference West Division heavyweights.
Then the visiting Rockets delivered a knockout punch, outscoring USA 21-12 in the fourth quarter en route to a 52-36 victory.
“That was a big win for us,” said Reese coach Denny Gruber, whose Rockets upped their league record to 4-0 (8-3 overall) with the win.
Reese led 18-6 at halftime, holding USA to four points in the first quarter and two in the second. But the third period belonged to the Patriots, who outscored Reese 18-13 behind the shooting of Madison Herman, Breanna Dinsmoore, Sam Ewald and Kayla Gremel.
“I think, defensively, we were able to pressure a little bit in the second half,” said USA coach Lindsay Bitzer. “Sam Ewald made some big plays for us. Maddie Herman had a really good game tonight. We’ve been waiting for that from her all year, and she stepped up big.
“We forced some turnovers and we got some easy things on the offensive end that we hadn’t gotten, obviously, all night.”
Reese took control in the second quarter, when 6–foot-1 senior Reyna Frost tallied 11 of her game-high 23 points.
Reese made 19 of 23 free throws in the game, while USA made three of five foul shots.
The Rockets found firepower in the fourth quarter, too, when Reese junior Maddie Coulter scored nine of her 12 points. A 3-pointer by Coulter gave Reese a 44-31 lead with 1:53 left in the game.
“Coulter made a big three and we made some shots, too,” Gruber said. “I don’t think we hardly missed a free throw down the stretch.”
Freshman point guard Sophee Robinson scored 10 points for Reese. Earlier this season Gruber brought Robinson and freshman guard Kelly Ratajczak up to the varsity.
“It’s a work in progress and I’m pleased with what they’re doing,” Gruber said of the two freshmen. “At times you gotta live with what happens … It’s tough for freshmen to handle the ball and there are growing pains. We had some growing pains there tonight, you could see that.
“We let ’em back in the game, but when we take care of the ball we’re a pretty good team.”
Frost added 21 rebounds, seven blocked shots and six steals for the Rockets. Reese’s junior center, 6-foot-3 Emily Fleischmann, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked five shots.
Ewald led USA with 10 points, while Herman scored eight. Gremel, Dinsmoore and Marisa Morton scored five apiece.
Reese hosts Valley Lutheran on Monday night, and on Wednesday entertains Sandusky — rated No. 1 in the state in Class C according to the latest Associated Press poll.
USA travels to Saginaw to play Michigan Lutheran Seminary on Monday.
Cass City 41, Mayville 34: Sayge Cuthrell scored 17 points to power the Red Hawks past the Wildcats in Cass City on Thursday. Alliah Riddle and Erin Zdrojewski added 11 points apiece for coach Clarke Haire’s Red Hawks. Jimi Harris sparked Mayville by pouring in 16 points, while teammates Miranda Zaremba added eight points and Lauryn Frenzel added seven. Frenzel pulled down seven rebounds, with Harris and Jenna Franks collecting six rebounds each for the Wildcats.
North Branch 38, Essesxville Garber 30: The Broncos picked up their second conference win of the season Thursday night. The Dukes held a slim 17-16 halftime lead, but North Branch outscored Garber 22-13 in the second half. The Broncos held Garber to only five fourth quarter points to seal the win. Lauren Bickle scored a game high 15 points for North Branch. The Broncos (2-8, 2-6) will be on the road Monday to play Chesaning in a non-conference matchup.
Caro 48, Bridgeport 37: Melissa Cockerill scored 24 points — her season high — to power the Tigers to a win Friday night at home. Sarah Brown tallied eight points and Micaylee Root added seven for the Tigers, who led 20-15 at halftime. “In the first half we didn’t execute as crisply as I would have liked; in the second half — especially in the third quarter when we outscored them 16-5 — we really came out and did what we needed to do,” said Caro coach Jeff Sauser. Caro upped its overall record to 7-3, and the Tigers improved to 6-2 in the Tri-Valley Conference East Division.
Akron-Fairgrove 55, Owen-Gage 30: The Vikings led 27-20 at halftime on the road Friday night, but outscored the Bulldogs 28-10 in the second half. Emily Wagner, a senior, led Akron-Fairgrove with 14 points while juniors Kim Rayl and Abby Reif added nine and eight points, respectively. Junior Megan Hiser pulled down 12 rebounds for Akron-Fairgrove, now 3-6 overall and 1-2 in the Michigan Summit League.
Birch Run 58, Millington 42: The Panthers pulled away in the fourth quarter on Thursday night, outscoring Millington 17-7, to seal the win. Hailey Murray scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Millington, while teammate Elizabeth Selich scored 10 and collected six rebounds. Sydney Olmstead tallied six points for Millington, with Haley Trickey adding seven steals and three points.
Frankenmuth 51, LakeVille 26: Coach Tom Keller’s Eagles knocked down five 3-pointers in the first quarter on Thursday en route to a 20-3 lead at quarter’s end. Junior Madison Walter poured in a career-high 27 points in the road game, while juniors Kelsie Kujat and Brayene Benner added seven points and 10 rebounds, respectively. Frankenmuth, now 10-1 overall and tied for 10th in the Associated Press Class B rankings, travels to Bullock Creek — rated No. 1 in Class B — for a Tri-Valley Conference crossover game Monday.