The Niles basketball team did not have an answer for Benton Harbor’s Kalabrya and Kysre Gondrezick Friday night.

Despite an off shooting night for both sisters, the Gondrezicks combined for 42 points in a 78-53 SMAC West Division win for the Tigers over the Vikings.

Kalabrya, who has signed a national letter of intent to play at Michigan State next season, led all scores with 23 points, while Kysre, who is being recruited by most of the top programs in the country including Connecticut, Baylor and Notre Dame, finished with 19 points.

They were a combined 14-of-44 from the field.

“They’re very tough to guard,” first-year Niles coach Phil D’Amico said. “Number one, they spread you out. Number two, they can get you off the dribble. They can pull up and hit the jumper. They’re good going left. They’re good going right. They’re just really adept at every skill at the offensive end.”

D’Amico, who saw improvement from his team from its opener against Edwardsburg on Tuesday, knows that his team has got to shoot the ball better than it did against the Tigers.

“If you’re going to play a team like that, you have to be able to go toe to toe with them a little bit at the offensive end,” D’Amico said. “And for the second game in a row we didn’t make shots. Against a team like Benton Harbor you have to be prepared to score a lot of points. Quite honestly, we gave everything we had. We left everything on the court. We had some tired bodies toward the end. But we’ve got to hit shots. That’s the bottom line.”

The Vikings (1-1, 0-1) were 18-of-62 from the field (29 percent).

The Gondrezick sisters got plenty of help from their supporting cast. Gabby Dortch scored 12 points and Juwana Young 10.

Benton Harbor coach Lisa Harvey-Gondrezick was happy with the effort in the Tigers’ first game of the year.

“It wasn’t bad for an opener,” Harvey-Gondrezick said. “I was ready just to get that first one under our belts. I told the kids we have to work out some kinks. My goal tonight was to execute, to communicate and for everybody to know what we were doing. And I thought we accomplished that.”

Niles was led by Jazmin Brann’s 16 points and 11 rebounds. Emily Gaines added 11 points, while Elyse Zimmerman finished with nine points and six rebounds.

“Jazmin has been incredible,” D’Amico said. “She’s a tremendous athlete. The upside for her is incredible. She’s getting better every day.”

 

BENTON HARBOR 78, NILES 53

BENTON HARBOR 78

Gabby Dortch 6 0-2 12, Dennee Brown 2 0-2 6, Kysre Gondrezick 7 3-3 19, Kalabrya Gondrezick 7 9-11 23, Juwana Young 3 3-3 10, Kaniya Washington 1 2-2 4, Sherry Walls 0 0-0 0, Shaniya Campbell 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 28 17-23 78

NILES 53

Jazmin Brann 5 6-10 16, Antonia Palmer 4 1-3 9, Emily Gaines 2 5-9 11, Maya Brookins 0 0-0 0, Elyse Zimmerman 4 0-1 9, Kylee Myer 1 0-0 2, Jaiden Rolan 1 0-0 2, Libby Moody 1 1-2 4. TOTALS 18 13-25 53

 

Benton Harbor          15       38       68       78

Niles                               5        23       44       53

3-point baskets: Benton Harbor 5 (Kysre Gondrezick 2, Brown 2, Young 1), Niles 4 (Gaines 2, Zimmerman 1, Moody 1). Total fouls (fouled out): Benton Harbor 20, Niles 17 (Brann). Varsity records: Benton Harbor 1-0, Niles 1-1. J.V. score: Benton Harbor 32, Niles 25.