Neither ran, nor snow, nor sleet…

The inclement weather and poor road conditions could only delay, but not halt, the Martin girls’ basketball team’s early season winning streak, as it posted a 43-28 victory over Holland Black River Saturday evening.

The game Friday night originally was postponed for 24 hours, but the Lady Clippers overcame a slow start to overtake their hosts and record their third triumph this season without a loss. They trailed 7-4 at the conclusion of the first quarter but surged to a 20-13 lead at intermission and never looked back afterward.

“The game was brutally physical and I was proud of the way our girls adjusted and rose to the occasion,” said coach Ben Schipper. “We kept our cool, played with a lot of strength and grit, and slowly wore down our opponent. After a very slow and frustrating start, we used a 16-6 second quarter to take the lead at half.

“I was very pleased with how we really grabbed hold of the game in the second half. We focused on one possession at a time and did a great job making timely plays. We were much more under control, hit the open girls, and took advantage of opportunities.

“Lynsey (Jager), Marybeth (Ritchie) and Liz (Reinke) were warriors tonight. Makala (Goddard) and Cirsten (Coburn) also handled the relentless pressure. I love seeing a balanced scoring attack and tonight we had every player score! It was another great team win.”

Makala Goddard led the Clippers with 16 points, including three threes, and the Jaeger sisters (Lynsey and Avery) and Coburn each added five. Goddard also came up with four steals, Avery Jager had 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Lynsey Jager added seven rebounds and Elizabeth Reinke nailed down eight rebounds.

Martin next will play Tuesday at Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central.