Senior Breanna Probst’s airtight defense on Greenville’s star player was the deciding factor that gave the Lady Rangers their first conference win over the Yellow Jackets 36-29. Greenville junior point guard Adele Kemp averages nearly 20 points a game and just came off of a win over Forest Hills Northern scoring 22 of her team’s 38. Tonight, Breanna held her to 12 with only two shots.

“I’ve guarded her before and I know she likes to shoot the three, so staying tight on her really helped me,” said Breanna, as she held this threat to zero points in the first quarter to allow the Rangers to jump out to an early 10-4 lead at the end of one. “[Keeping her to zero points in the first] felt pretty good [and] I felt like it helped our team stay positive, build off that, and [translate it] into our offense.”

The Rangers held the lead throughout the entire game but only slightly. FHC went into the locker room at half up by seven, as the score was 18-11. Greenville then came out hot and pulled the game within one point in the final two minutes of the third. However, the Rangers pulled back ahead and maintained a substantial lead to end the game with a 36-29 victory.

“We walked in [the locker room] and said, “Everyone should give Bree a high five,a�� because she didn’t sit once tonight, she was on Adele, and Adele had two shots on her. She had 12 points but two shots; that’s unbelievable,” said head coach Kristina Prins about her star defender holding the threat to two threes and six free throws on the night. “Bree had a great game and [if] you shut Adele out, you really shut out Greenville.”

In addition to playing stellar defense, FHC came together on offense and played as a team for the first game all season. With their quick passes, the Rangers easily exploited Greenville’s zone defense.

“I feel like they’re getting more comfortable with each other and [this game] was just nice,” Prins said. “I feel like we’re finally looking up the floor, we’re looking for our teammates, we’re trying to make the extra pass, and that’s what we need.”

A key to this offense execution was senior point guard Madi Winter. While only scoring two points on the night, Madi was extremely pleased with her performance.

“I love [not scoring a lot] honestly because that’s how I play; I’m more of a distributor than a scorer,” Madi said. “I like finding opportunities for [my teammates].”

Another key to the Ranger offense was consistent leading scorer junior Claire Baguley, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds on the night.

After losing to Greenville twice last season and coming off of a last-second loss to Northview earlier in the week, this win was huge for the Rangers.

“I think [winning] really helps our confidence as a team because [the Northview game] was a tough game to lose because it was so close,” said junior Chloe Grooters who had four points and made some outstanding assists throughout the night. “This [win] was just a good pick-me-up to get ready for the rest of the conference [games].”

This win puts the Lady Rangers at even records, as they are 1-1 in the conference and 4-4 overall. FHC will travel to Cedar Springs on Tuesday for their next battle.

“[We] just [have to] come to play,” Madi said. “Cedar is just another team; we’re going to show up and do our thing.”