Lady Rangers fall to Bridgman
Published 7:32 am Thursday, October 12, 2006
By By JEFF FISHER / Vigilant/Argus
Lakeland Conference supremacy was on the line Thursday night as host Cass took their unblemished record against Bridgman.
A Ranger victory would give them a 2-game lead in the Lakeland Conference, and a loss would send them in a two-way tie.
Bees' (7-4, 6-1 LAC), Amy Schultz's two-free throws with 11 seconds remaining in the game gave the Bees, the three-time defending Lakeland Conference champions, the clinching road victory and continued their dominance over the Rangers during the past three seasons.
"This win means a lot," Bridgman coach Amy Houghton said. "We are pretty much in control of our destiny now. Cass is a great team and our girls came ready to play."
Cass' Michelle James started a Ranger 7-0 run in the first quarter to take a 12-8 lead until Bees' Miranda Strefling drained a three-pointer to narrow the lead down to 12-11.
The Rangers tied the ballgame up in the second quarter on a James' lay up, until the Bees' launched a barrage from behind the arc to open up a 26-20 halftime lead.
"When you live and die from behind the three-point arc, to hit your first few, that is always big," Houghton said.
Both teams combined for nine three-pointers in the first half. Bridgman connected on seven of those. Four of those were from Strefling.
"I think the first half really hurt us," Ranger coach Floyd Foston said. "We didn't close out well or guard the perimeter very well. We gave them some open looks and they knocked down the shots, and offensively we missed a ton of shots, and in a game like this you have to be sharp on both ends of the floor."
The Rangers (6-3 6-1 LAC), trailed the Bees 28-24 with a minute to go in the third quarter on a Tiffany Williams shot, but Strefling followed with a 3-pointer to give the visitors a 31-24 lead after three quarters of play.
Cass chopped away at the lead (33-30), on two Nikitas Nelson free-throws, thanks largely in part to six turnovers by Bridgman in the fourth quarter. But a missed front end of a one-and-one by Williams and Schultz's free-throws all but sealed their road victory.
Strefling scored 20 points to lead all scorers and grabbed nine boards. Schultz and Erica Eddy each added eight points respectively.
James had 15 points and three 3-pointers and teammate Dee Dee Hawkins dropped in 10 points and snared 11 rebounds for Cass.
The Rangers will get a chance to avenge their loss on Nov. 11 when they travel to Bridgman.
"The past three years we have been right in the thick of things and Bridgman has been the team to knock us out of the conference. It just makes it more interesting now and we just didn't take care of business here tonight. We put this behind us and move on," Foston added.
The junior varsity Lady Rangers also fell to the Bees 39-23 in the game played earlier.
BRIDGMAN 42
Chelsea Anderson 0 0-0 0, Erica Eddy 3 1-2 8, Amy Schultz 2 2-2 8, Lacey Hedtke 0 1-1 1, Sarah Svoboda 2 0-0 5, Miranda Streffling 6 4-7 20, Ariel Potter 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 8-12 42
CASSOPOLIS 35
Dee Dee Hawkins 5 0-0 10, Tiffany Williams 2 0-3 4, Taira Williams 0 2-2 2, Nikitas Nelson 1 2-2 4, Michelle James 5 2-4 15, Kenyah House 0 0-0 0, Becky File 0 0-0 0, Kia Luckey 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 6-11 35.
Bridgman 11 26 31 42
Cassopolis 12 20 24 35
3-point baskets: Strefling (B) 4, Schultz (B) 2, Eddy (B), Svoboda(B), James (C) 3. Total fouls: Bridgman 16 (Potter and Anderson), Cassopolis 15 (Nelson and James). Fouled out: Potter (B), Anderson (B), Nelson (C), James (C). Varsity records: Bridgman 7-4, 6-1 LAC; Cassopolis 6-3, 6-1 LAC