The girls varsity basketball team started the season out dominantly to go undefeated with a trio of victories, winning by 15 points or more in each competition. The Lady Rangers will face their toughest opponent to date in the 3-1 Rockford Rams tomorrow night on the road.

Rockford comes off of a 14-7 record in the 2017-2018 season and a second-place tie in the OK Red, which includes basketball powerhouses such as Grand Haven and East Kentwood. The Rams are fresh off of a loss to the extremely talented Muskegon Big Reds last Friday, and one of their wins came against FHC’s biggest competition in the OK White, Northview, 55-48. 

FHC and Rockford rarely play and are not annual opponents, but these two teams did play in 2016 at the Cornerstone Holiday Tournament. In that game Rockford was victorious 67-41, but these two talented teams look very evenly matched this year. Rockford returns senior guard Anna Glynn and junior point guard Sydney Reinke, both having considerable height at 5’9, who are excellent players on both sides of the ball. These two could wreak havoc on the turnover-prone Rangers on defense if FHC can’t clean up on the offensive side of the ball. The Rams also return senior center Danielle Lamancua at 6’0, who is an outstanding rebounder.

Leading scorer senior Claire Baguley will return for the Rangers for tomorrow night’s game after being sidelined on Friday due to an injury. Junior Ally Ringler and freshman Theryn Hallock, in addition to Claire, will be key with their high-scoring tendencies of late. Quick passing between these three guards will be key to breaking through Rockford’s press and stellar defense. Senior Kaitlyn Piontkowsky and freshman Remmie Ingraham, both with considerable height down low, will have to challenge Danielle Lamancua on the boards to avoid giving Rockford second-chance points.

The Rangers have been clearly dominant in each game they’ve played so far, but tomorrow’s game against a scrappy veteran roster will be a true test of FHC’s young talent. If the Lady Rangers can pull out a win on the road tomorrow night, it will be a big momentum boost and set the tone for the rest of the season.