In the opening minutes, freshman Bryn Yoder took advantage of the lackadaisical Ottawa Hills defense and scored seven points within minutes. Bryn would go on to capitalize on her match up all night long and went on to be the night’s high scorer, finishing with 13 of FHC’s 38 points.

Due to impressive play on the offensive end, and lock-down defense on their own end of the court, the girls freshman basketball team would go on to defeat Ottawa Hills 38-17 in a strong showing from the home side.

“Before the game we knew that their defense was aggressive and liked to push forward,” Bryn said. “We were patient, and when they pushed up I snuck underneath the basket. My teammates got me the ball, and I converted.”

On the defensive end during the first, the Rangers set up in a 2-3 zone. The zone proved to be effective, and FHC would stay in the set because of it. On the offensive end, Bryn led the charge. At the end of one, FHC was on top 9-0.

“We got off to a quick start and made them play catch up,” freshman Ally Ringler said. “It was just a matter of keeping the intensity up that was our focus after that. We were able to do that, and we won the game.”

The second quarter brought more of the first. It took Ottawa Hills until three minutes into the second until they were able to convert and put their first points on the board. Due to an effective press through the remainder of the second, the Rangers entered halftime with a substantial 23-4 lead.

“We had played well in the first, so we didn’t switch much up at the break,” head coach Brandon Yoder said. “We continued to play our 2-3 zone on the defensive end, because we knew that they had some explosive players that may be able to exploit our man-to-man defense.”

Ally came out hot in the second half, scoring consecutive baskets and forcing an Ottawa Hills timeout. Unable to stop the Ranger attack, Ottawa Hills eventually switched to a zone of their own. FHC continued to find weak spots and exploit the lethargic defense.

FHC entered the fourth leading 33-6. At no time in the fourth would they let up. FHC continued to play hard until the last whistle and secured a dominant victory. FHC had defeated Ottawa Hills 38-17.

“We played really well tonight,” Bryn said. “We focused on the things that we could control, and that’s all it took. It’s a simple game. Do what you can do well, and you’ll get the result you want.”

The girls now look forward to finishing strong as the season winds down in the coming weeks.

“We did a lot right today, but we also did some things wrong,” Ally said. “We don’t have a ton of season left, but cleaning up our play on both sides of the ball will be crucial.”