On a night when neither team was sharp, visiting Edwardsburg pulled away in the second half and came away with a 46-33 non-conference girls basketball victory over host Niles Tuesday night.

The Vikings (0-1) got off to a quick start, grabbing a 13-5 first quarter lead.

The Eddies (1-0) would rally to tie the score at 23-23 by halftime despite hitting just 10-of-21 free throw attempts.

Edwardsburg turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter and the remainder of the game.

Numerous turnovers by a short-handed Niles squad led to easy baskets. The Vikings played without starting guard Elyse Zimmerman and Antonio Palmer.

Zimmerman should return next week, while Palmer will be out until after the first of the year.

“We were in foul trouble all night,” Niles coach Phil D’Amico said. “At one point we had three sophomores, a freshman and a junior that had not played varsity last year at all. Guard depth was an issue tonight for sure and we struggled with it.

Edwardsburg came into the game with a new head coach and new offensive philosophy. Former Decatur boys basketball coach Jon Pobuda has taken the reigns of the Eddies’ program.

His young team, which includes a pair of freshmen (Kaitlyn Zarycki and Chloe Bartz) and sophomore Alexa Markel, appeared nervous to start the game, but settled down, especially in the second half when the Eddies pulled away.

“We started slow,” Pobuda said. “We were nervous. We weren’t quite sure what to expect. Luckily we didn’t let down and we battled back and tied it right before half. That is a credit to their hard work and just getting after it. We created a bunch of turnovers and started getting into it. But we also turned the ball over off the turnovers we create so we have to clean that up.”

Edwardsburg outscored Niles 23-10 in the second half, including 12-5 in the third quarter.

Junior Savannah Dixon led the Eddies and all scorers with 21 points. Junior Noelle Kraus finished with nine points and Zarycki six.

Niles senior Jazmin Brann, who was plagued by foul trouble, led the Vikings with 13 points. Sophomore Lajan Mitchell and junior Jaycee Myer finished with six and five points respectively.

 

EDWARDSBURG 46, NILES 33

At Niles

EDWARDSBURG 46

Michaela Ritschard 2, Alexa Markel 1, Kaitlyn Zarycki 6, Gabi Fonseca 2, Savannah Dixon 21, Chloe Bartz 2, Noelle Kraus 9, Hannah Olson 0, Brayden Curtis 2, Samantha Ekanayake 1. TOTALS: 15 14-35 46

NILES 33

Taylor Gibson 1, Tegan Bays 0, Maya Brookins 2, Alexis Preston 1, Emily Gaines 3, Aynslee Myer 2, Jaycee Myer 5, Jazmin Brann 13, Lajan Mitchell 6. TOTALS: 9 12-24 33

 

Edwardsburg            5          23       35       46

Niles                            13       23       28       33

3-point baskets: Edwardsburg 2 (Dixon 2), Niles X; Total fouls (fouled out): Edwardsburg 21 (none), Niles 25 (Gaines, Brann). Varsity records: Edwardsburg 1-0, Niles 0-1. JV score: Edwardsburg 46 (E. Wideman 16, C. Alby 11), Niles 6.