Sophomore Chloe Grooters was having lots of success running the point on Thursday night.  She managed to create six scoring opportunities with her passing, put eleven of the Rangers twenty-five points on the board, and controlled the offensive tempo. At half, when East Kentwood wised up and decided to double-team FHC´s key playmaker, the outcome of the game transitioned in the Falcons favor.

“My teammates were making a lot of good passes, and I was getting open,” Chloe said. “They put on a lot of pressure after the first quarter, and we had to adjust.”

The FHC girls JV basketball team jumped ahead early against their non-conference opponent East Kentwood. They dominated down low and installed an up-tempo offense to break the tight press of the Falcon defense. FHC deservedly led at the end of the first 8-3.

¨We started out quickly and played the game that we had anticipated,” head coach Kevin Brechting said. ¨We were running our press break as planned, but at the beginning of the second they switched things up on us.¨

Midway through the second quarter, East Kentwood made a crucial change in their press defense which would ultimately affect the outcome of the game. Instead of pressing five bodies forward, they sagged one of their defenders back to take away the lob pass that the Rangers had been utilizing early on. With the switch in defense, the Falcons clawed their way back into the game and closed the gap to 11-10 at the half.

¨They made an adjustment and we didn’t,” sophomore Alexa Lauer said. ¨We had a good gameplan, but they made some plays which affected the game.¨

The third quarter brought more of the same.  The Falcons managed to knot up the score at fourteen midway through the third. East Kentwood drove to the rim hard and managed to get to the foul line frequently. The Falcons capitalized on their chances at the charity strike and started to extend their lead over the Rangers. At the end of the third, East Kentwood led 28-16.

¨They made shots when it counted,” Brechting said. “We sent them to the free throw line quite a bit and they converted. They’re called ‘free’ for a reason.”

In the fourth, the Falcons sealed the deal. They outplayed the Rangers on both of the offensive and defensive boards; this brought several more scoring chances for the Falcons. Near the end of the game, the Rangers offense began to push for a comeback. They were able to bring the score within ten, but in the end, it was too little too late.

“They were a good team,” Chloe said. “They were the better team tonight and deserve a lot of credit for their performance.”

With two games now under their belt, the Lady Rangers will look onto their next opponent, Grand Haven.

“We definitely need to improve on our rebounding and our offensive movement,” Brechting said. “On the boards, we just aren’t getting many rebounds. On offense, we’re moving, but not with a purpose. We need to want it more.”