The Martin girls’ varsity basketball team defeated Tri-Unity Christian 49-41 in the opening round of the Division 4 district tournament.
Hopkins did not fare as well in its district tourney opener, falling 53-42 to West Michigan Aviation. The Lady Vikings finished with a 6-10 overall record. West Michigan Aviation will take its 12-5 up against Wayland Wednesday night in the semifinals.
The Hopkins varsity was disqualified from playing in the game because of a Covid-19 quarantine, so members of the junior varsity played in their stead.
The Lady Clippers survived a sluggish first half, leading only 22-17 at intermission and then went on a 23-9 tear during the third quarter to claim a 45-26 advantage going into the final eight minutes. From there, they had to hang on.
Brianna Warner
“It was a great win tonight in our district semi-final to advance to the district final on Friday,” said coach Ben Schipper. “We only had three teams in our district, so we will be hosting Byron Center Zion Christian on Friday at 6:30.
“We came out of the gates a little slow against Tri-Unity’s pressure. I was very proud of the way our young guards (Cirsten Colburn and Makala Goddard) learned from their rough patches early on and handled the pressure better as the game went on. It was a good game for them to be tested and grow from.”
Bri Warner scored heavily in the opening quarter and finished with 19 points. Gracie Shettler picked up the offense in the third quarter surge and finished with 14 points..
“I’m very proud of their all around effort,” Schipper said. “Bri scored all 10 of our first quarter points. It was great to see her get rolling early. She guarded Eerdmans all night long and held her scoreless until the fourth quarter.
“Gracie and Bri moved without the ball really well tonight and played off each other’s games very well. That was the best I’ve seen the two of them sync up all season long. Gracie’s defense took a huge step forward tonight as well. Nothing but positives to share about the two of them.”
The coach also called out the energy and tenacity freshman Liz Reinke brought off the bench.
“She played some big minutes getting loose balls and was a force on the boards. She really sparked us defensively when we needed it in the second quarter and carried it over into the third as well.”
The victory lifted the Martin girls’ season record to 8-5 and enabled them to take on an 11-1 Byron Center Zion Christian squad in the district finals Friday night on their home court. Tri-Unity finished its season with a 5-10 mark.
