Bucs narrowly avoid upset

Wed, Jan 6, 2010    to del.icio.us

A deep 3-pointer by Grand Haven sophomore Alex Law with nearly 2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter Tuesday gave the host Buccaneers a 31-29 lead over visiting East Kentwood.

Amazingly, Law's triple accounted for the final points of the game as the two teams held each other scoreless over the final two minutes of a grueling grind-it-out contest at Grand Haven Fieldhouse.

"You've got to protect your home court, and no matter how ugly it was, we survived," said Grand Haven coach Katie Kowalczyk-Fulmer, whose team is now 6-1 overall and 3-1 in O-K Red Conference play after Tuesday's victory. "When you're playing for a conference championship, every game is a championship game, and we already let one slip away against Grandville, so we couldn't afford to lose this game."

The Bucs' grasp on the contest seemed to be slipping midway through the fourth quarter as the Falcons' top player, Areonna Dobbins, swished a pair of free throws for a 29-26 lead.

Grand Haven was in complete disarray on offense, but point guard Sarah Schulz simplified things by slicing to the basket for a layup, trimming Kentwood's lead to one point. After a defensive stop, the Bucs ran a play for the sharp-shooting sophomore Law, and her straight-away 3-pointer from several feet beyond the arc hit nothing but net, giving the home team a 31-29 lead.

"That's her range," Kowlaczyk-Fulmer said of Law, who scored eight points to share team-high honors with center Lindsey Burnside.

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On the defensive end, the Bucs forced a turnover with 1:14 to play, but suddenly faced the daunting task of holding onto the ball against an aggressive East Kentwood squad that still had six fouls to give before reaching the bonus.

Grand Haven turned the ball over once, but Kentwood's Dobbins missed both foul shots with 33 seconds to play.

The home team had a chance to seal the victory at the line with 5.4 seconds to play, but Law missed the front end of a one-and-one. The ball came out to Dobbins, who sprinted down the floor, but didn't have a good feel for the time remaining as she took one too many dribbles and was unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer.

The Bucs struggled to find a rhythm on offense, primarily because of the quick feet and active hands displayed by the Falcons' defenders.

"We knew they were fast, but we didn't expect them to be that fast," said Buccaneers' forward Paige Wilds, who finished with five points and six rebounds. "Their pressure was tough, and we were out of shape."

The two weeks off for Christmas Break were particularly tough on Wilds, who is playing through a torn ACL this winter. Had she opted for surgery after tearing the ligament late last year, she would have missed her senior season.

"During break, resting my knee actually made it worse," she said. "Then tonight I fell on it twice and got kicked."

The Bucs' usual depth in the frontcourt took a blow against the Falcons as Mindy Marx, a 6-1 center, missed the game because of a violation of team policy. That left Wilds, Lindsey Burnside, Kaeding Skelton and Sarah Kober to battle down low against East Kentwood's outstanding center Tatiyana Jones.

Burnside had a solid game for the Bucs. Her back-to-back buckets in the third quarter helped keep Grand Haven close. She finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

"She had a couple quick buckets in the third quarter and she ran the floor well. She was really active," Kowlaczyk-Fulmer said.

Skelton played well on defense and finished with six boards while Kober grabbed seven rebounds.

Grand Haven won despite shooting just 25 percent from the floor.

"Fortunately, we got enough stops and enough rebounds to win," Kowalczyk-Fulmer said. "East Kentwood may have outplayed us for much of the game. We were in trouble late in the game before Alex hit that 3."

Dobbins led the Falcons in scoring with six points, and Chri Carter added six as the Falcons also struggled to get anything started on the offensive end.

Grand Haven will return to action on Friday as the Bucs' boys and girls host an O-K Red doubleheader against Muskegon. The girls contest begins at 6 p.m.

Junior Varsity: Grand Haven remained unbeaten with a 48-37 win over East Kentwood. Angie Schultz provided 12 points and seven steals for the Bucs, while Morgan Hawver added nine points, seven rebounds and six steals. Megan Newhouse had eight points, five rebounds and five steals, while Jordan Keefe added eight points and five boards.

Freshmen: Grand Haven fell to East Kentwood on Tuesday, 59-31. Brooke Way scored eight points, and Grace Kendra added seven.