The Martin girls’ varsity basketball team bounced back from a bad week by claiming a 47-26 win Tuesday night over Lawton.
“It was a great bounce back game for us after a rough week,” echoed coach Ben Schipper.
The Martin boys’ squad, meanwhile, pulled out a tight 38-37 victory over Lawton.
The Lady Clippers welcomed the return of leading scorer Gracie Shettler, who played limited minutes but was the team’s second second leading scorer with nine points. Freshman Makala Goddard thrived during the evening knocking down three three-point field goals and finishing with 16 points.
“Every player on the team scored, which pointed to our selflessness we played with tonight,” the coach added. “Our ball movement was much better and we were more active on the offensive end.
“Tonight we took a great step in the right direction and I’m proud of the execution and effort!”
Collin Coburn dropped in 23 points, Charley Martin had 7 points 5 rebounds and Mitchell Jager 9 points and 8 rebounds as teh Clipper boys queaked past Lawton. Gabe Meyers gathered 7 rebounds.
Coach Brad Moelker said his team went up 20 to 3 in the first quarter, but the contest turned into a nail biter.
“Lawton fought right back and hit some big shots,” the coach said. “We had some good looks throughout the second half; they just weren’t falling like they were in the first.
“I thought our defense did a pretty good job of stopping their ball screen offense, but we did not communicate well enough during stretches of the game. The final quarter we had just enough of a lead to hold on.”
The Clippers nailed six threes in the first quarter and had eight by halftime.
“That was the first game Collin (Coburn) has been aggressive with his shot. He’s always aggressive going to the rim but tonight he hit five threes which was nice to see.
“After that start they really tried to take Collin away during the second half. I thought our team did a nice job of still utilizing him but not trying to force it too much.”
Moelker said Brayden Eckman played a really good fourth quarter.
“He made some adjustments to his defense and started to set up some of his teammates on the offensive end.
“I thought our team did a pretty good job of rebounding throughout the game. That’s an area we continue to emphasize every game with our bigs and guards. We just really have to start anticipating some plays on the defensive end to tighten things up.”
Both the Martin girls’ and boys’ squads now own 4-4 overall season records. Both will make the long trip to Coloma Friday.
