High school hoops: Holland Christian girls top Hamilton; Saugatuck guard reaches milestone
HOLLAND - The Holland Christian girls basketball team took advantage of early turnovers, built a double-digit lead and hung on against rival Hamilton.
The Maroons won 50-40 on Friday night at the Holland Civic Center.
Four straight turnovers late in the first quarter converted into several baskets, including a 3-pointer by Evelyn Klingenberg, which put the Maroons up 15-2 after forcing more than 10 turnovers in the quarter
"We had a lot of energy with the press and it just faded. We have to learn how to mentally overcome our exhaustion late in games. We are going to learn from this and be tough," Holland Christian coach Kyle Phelps said.
More: Holland Christian basketball takes advantage of physical matchup with rival Hamilton
More: Starting 5 of the century: Holland Christian girls basketball - vote for the sixth woman
Adelynn Nyhof scored 22 points to lead the Maroons (7-2, 3-1 OK Blue). Kierea Smits added nine.
"We worked well as a team and had a lot of energy. We knew if we pressured them we could cause turnovers," Nyhof said.
The Hawkeyes struggled to get the ball into the hands of star Kaitlyn Geurink early in the game. Once they did, things opened up and the Hawkeyes pulled within 40-30 in the fourth quarter.
"We have grown up with Kaitlyn and our focus was on her - and she still had 18. When we fade mentally, good players will find a way to score," Phelps said.
But a couple more turnovers kept them from closing the gap any further.
Geurink finished with 18 points to lead the Hawkeyes (4-5, 2-3 OK Green).
"They are long and aggressive and athletic and they definitely got us sped up. We are a young team and we need games like this to learn and get better," Hamilton coach Jacquelyn Malloch said. "We had better spacing and ball movement and shots started to fall. Our defensive energy creates our offense and we have to have to do that for four quarters."
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Saugatuck 47, Black River 31
Brook Simpson scored 22 points and reached 1,000 points for her career in a SAC win.
Simpson hit four 3s along the way.
The transfer from Belding missed last year with a knee injury.
"What an honor and privilege for our program to be part of Brook's journey back to the basketball court," Saugatuck coach Kevin Tringali said. "Our players, school and community have embraced Brook and her sister and in return they have been phenomenal teammates. They make everyone around them better. What makes the milestone even more remarkable is that she did it playing only nine games her freshman year due to COVID-19 and sat out junior year because of injury. She is so humble yet absolutely relentless in her work ethic. As we constantly talk about enjoying every moment we have together, tonight was certainly one of those moments."
West Ottawa 62, Hudsonville 40
The Panthers started strong then used a 21-11 advantage in the third quarter to take control.
Gabby Reynolds scored 32 points to lead the Panthers, including a 10-for-10 performance from the free-throw line.
Chelsea Overbeek and Avery VanDellen each had nine poitns and Magaly Lemus added seven, while Brooke Pedersen scored five for the Panthers (7-2, 3-1 OK Red).
Josie DeSmit led Hudsonville with 10 points.
Zeeland East 52, Holland 20
The Chix won the OK Green matchup.
Emily Wierenga led the Chix with 15 points, with Lizzie Risdon chipping in eight, while Jaiden Lee and Mirra Fenlon each added six.
"We are still working on consistency on both ends of the floor. Tonight we learned more lessons that will only help us grow and improve." said Holland coach Dan Telgenhof.
Khee Rumpsa had five points for the Dutch.
Muskegon 54, Zeeland West 35
Muskegon had a strong first half that proved too much for the Dux to overcome at 35-11.
Georgia Kuyers led the Dux with eight points.
Allegan 43, Fennville 15
The Blackhawks lost the SAC matchup.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Zeeland East 55, Holland 45
The Chix led seven at the half before the Dutch closed within 36-34 in the third quarter.
Holland tied the game 40-40 with five minutes remaining, but the Chix finished the game on a 15-5 run to hold off the Dutch.
Zeeland East improved to 6-6 and 3-1 in the OK Green.
Leading the Chix offense were Senior Layne Risdon and Junior Will Ver Steeg. Risdon scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds, seven on the offensive end of the floor while VerSteeg scored 12 points, dished out three assists and added two steals. Junior BJ Walker scored nine points and Jacob Vera tallied eight points.
Holland's Arthur Powell scored 19 points.
Saugatuck 70, Black River 45
The win gives Saugatuck an undefeated record in the Division (5-0).
Saugatuck scored 49 in the first half and led 49-25.
Leading the way for the Trailblazers was senior Matt Hartgerink who tied his career high with 26 points. Russell VandePoel and Carter Miller added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Jonah Vandermeer lead the River Rats with 15 points. Josiah Thomas chipped in nine points and five assists.
Muskegon 52, Zeeland West 35
Zeeland West's Merritt Alderink scored 12 points but it wasn't enough in the OK Green first-place battle with the Big Reds.
M'Khi Guy had 18 points for Muskegon (7-0). The Dux dropped to 7-3 and 3-1 in the OK Green.
Orion Yant scored eight points for the Dux.
Hudsonville 93, West Ottawa 56
The Eagles scored 24 points in the first quarter, then 22 and 29 in the next two quarter to run away with the OK Red win.
Breylan McPhaul scored 21 points for the Eagles.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: High school hoops: Holland Christian girls top Hamilton
