A tied game after four quarters slipped away from the girls varsity basketball team in overtime, as the Lady Rangers lost the conference opener to Northview 48-39. Despite an off shooting night, senior Claire Baguley led the scoring for FHC with 14 points, followed by freshman Theryn Hallock with 10.

The first quarter saw a combination of good defenses and poor offenses from both teams, as the Wildcats led 6-2 at the break. A bucket underneath from sophomore Brittney Probst tied things up at 6 early in the second quarter, then a free throw from Brittney knotted the score at 9 later on. A combination of early foul trouble and an injured sophomore Zoe Lipke, the usual first player in off the bench, gave Brittney some quality minutes on the floor last night.

“I thought Britt played great, she was such a spark and worked her butt of,” said head coach Kristina Prins about the sophomore that ended the night with 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. “She had some big rebounds and big stops; I was super happy with how hard she worked.”

The Lady Rangers gained their first lead of the game with 3:15 left in the half thanks to a bucket from Claire, but Northview was able to go into the break ahead 15-13. FHC’s shooting was extremely cold in the first half, but their defense kept the Wildcats within reach.

There were multiple lead changes and tied scores in the third quarter, but the Wildcats led 25-22 after three quarters of play. In the fourth, the Rangers finally gained some momentum and started to play like their usual selves. FHC’s press worked wonderfully and was highlighted by Claire’s aggressiveness and all-out effort. The Lady Rangers gained their biggest lead of the game at 34-29 and seemed to have all the momentum. The Wildcats then went on a 10-5 scoring run in the last four minutes, and the game was tied at 39 after four quarters.

“We finally jumped on them and pressed them, which is where we get our energy,” Prins said. “We just couldn’t sustain that [type of] play.”

FHC’s shooting went ice cold in overtime, as Northview outscored the Rangers 9-0 to take home the 48-39 win. After this tough loss, the girls varsity basketball team sits at 5-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference. The Lady Rangers will host Cedar Springs on Friday while hunting for their first OK White win.

“We had a good run in the fourth, but Northview just kept coming back,” Prins said. “We really played down to their level; we just couldn’t get in our groove.”