West Ottawa basketball rebounds way to historic regional title, led by Brooke Pedersen
HUDSONVILLE - With all the focus on Miss Basketball finalist Gabby Reynolds, the West Ottawa girls team once again proved it is far more than a one-woman team.
In the regional semifinals, it was senior guard Chelsea Overbeek who dominated.
It was senior Brooke Pedersen's turn on Wednesday as she put together a double-double to lead West Ottawa past Byron Center 40-38 in the Division 1 regional final at Hudsonville as the Panthers claimed their first regional title of the century.
"This means everything," Pedersen said. "It is so great to have been a part of this run. This has been a huge goal of ours for a long time. It is the coolest feeling to do this with some of my best friends."
It was Pedersen who put the Panthers ahead for good. Byron Center hit a 3-pointer to pull within one, but Overbeek hit a free throw to make it a two-point win.
More: 'Defense is how we win': Chelsea Overbeek, West Ottawa dominate way to regional final
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"Brooke played great and she and Magaly were tremendous on the boards. It helped us withstand their run to start the game. Defensively, I am really proud of how we played and those rebounds, especially offensive rebounds, were huge," West Ottawa coach Paul Chapman said. "We are just so happy to survive and move on."
The Panthers (20-6) will face Rockford on Tuesday in the Division 1 quarterfinals at Grandville.
"We have been wanting to make this happen since we were in middle school, to in a sense, make history for our basketball program," Overbeek said. "It is a great feeling to come out with a win. Our individual roles and skills make a great team. We have a ton of amazing athletes."
Pedersen had 10 points and 12 rebounds, while junior center Magaly Lemus grabbed 16 rebounds as the Panthers completely dominated the boards.
"My dad always says find a way to have an impact on the game. I try to do that with my rebounding, and when I was open they ended up falling tonight," Pedersen said. "If I am seeing Magaly run and get a rebound, I am going to work just as hard to do it again. We rebound together and feed off of each other. We have a lot of trust in each other."
Reynolds scored 17 points.
"This means everything," Reynolds said. "It speaks volume to our team, how hard we work and how much grit we have. It has been a long time coming."
It didn't start so strong for the Panthers.
Byron Center jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind two 3s from Avery DePagter.
Trailing 15-6 after one quarter, West Ottawa got the ball inside with a couple of baskets from Brooke Pedersen and Reynolds started to heat up.
But it was a 3 from Taylor Catton that tied the game 20-20 in the closing seconds of the half.
West Ottawa's first lead of the game came on a Reynolds jumper to start the second half, 22-20. Overbeek added a 3 on a nice pass from Reynolds and it ws 25-20. Lemus added a putback and it was 27-20. The Panthers led 31-25 after three.
Zeinstra hit some free throws, then a 3 to pull the Bulldogs with in 33-32 with 4:52 to go in the fourth. Madison Sandholm tied it 35-35 with a 3 with 3:18 to go.
Miss Basketball battle
Reynolds and Byron Center's Lily Zeinstra were both part of the five finalists for Miss Basketball of Michigan this year.
The award will be announced on Monday.
This was their second meeting. In thefirst matchup, West Ottawa won 66-58. Reynolds scored 35 and Zeinstra had 24.
Wednesday, Reynolds had 17 and Zeinstra had 16.
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: West Ottawa girls basketball rebounds way to historic regional title
