Basketball Notebook: Marshall girls start second half of league race with a win
As Marshall reaches the midway point of the conference season, the Redhawks have a goal of finishing in the top half of the league and possibly contend.
The first step toward that was getting a win in the first game of the second half of the league season.
Marshall got that done with a 45-36 win over Harper Creek in Interstate 8 Conference girls basketball action on Friday at Marshall High School.
MORE: Marshall boys enjoy a bit of revenge in win over Harper Creek
"We finished 4-3 in the conference in the first half, and we felt like a game or two slipped out of our hands there and we want to improve on that. So we want to finish stronger in the second half," Marshall coach Lance Hawblitz said.
With a slim 23-21 lead at halftime, Marshall executed its offense in the second half and hit some big shots to stretch its lead and improve to 7-7 overall and 5-3 in the league.
"It was a physical game, especially down the stretch. It was good to see our girls execute in front of a nice crowd in a great atmosphere for basketball," Hawblitz said.
Addison Waito and Natalie Frever led Marshall with 13 points each with Lanie Coddens adding 12.
Ella Chantrenne had 13 points to lead Harper Creek with Payton Rice chipping in eight as the Beavers fall to 4-9 overall.
More Friday's Girls Basketball
Kalamazoo Central 33, Lakeview 29
With a chance to dig into Kalamazoo Central's league lead, Lakeview fell short and dropped to 7-5 overall. The Maroon Giants have now swept Lakeview on the season and remain undefeated and in first place in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division. The Spartans were led by Maddie Belmore and Katie Belmore, with eight points each.
Lumen Christi 34, Pennfield 31
Pennfield drops to 5-10 as Kaylee Glidden had 17 points and eight rebounds with Natalie Hensel adding eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
Battle Creek Central 33, St. Joseph 32
Battle Creek Central held St. Joseph to 10 points in the first half, including keeping the Bears scoreless in the second quarter, and then held on for the SMAC victory. A'Mya Hodges had 21 points, including four 3-pointers, in the win as BCC improves to 3-9.
Coldwater 39, Hastings 23
Freshman Rylie VanAken had 10 points to lead Coldwater, which jumps to 13-1 on the season.
Thursday's Girls Basketball
Jackson Christian 48, St. Philip 38
Addi Dzwik had 23 points and nine rebounds for the Tigers in the loss with Miriam Hibbard adding eight points and eight rebounds.
Athens 39, Litchfield 21
Kami Patrick had 12 points, seven rebounds and five steals for Athens, which improved to 9-4.
Colon 50, Pittsford 46
Colon jumps to 10-3 as Reese Williams had 24 points and Megann Mullins added 13 points, five assists and four steals.
Olivet 39, Stockbridge 14
Olivet climbs to 12-3 and stays in first place in the GLAC with the win over 10-4 Stockbridge. Kara Priddy had 12 points, eight steals and seven rebounds for the Eagles.
Battle Creek Academy 59, Marshall Academy 22
Sofia Keller had a school record 41 points as BCA rolled to the conference win and improved to 6-8. Keller, a freshman who played on varsity the last two years as well, has reached 800 career points.
Friday's Boys Basketball
Coldwater 42, Hastings 37
Coldwater remained tied for first place in the Interstate 8 Conference at 6-2 and goes to 7-5 overall. Evan Sloan had 16 points to lead Coldwater as Ayden Dirschell added 14 points.
Lumen Christi 47, Pennfield 30
Pennfield fell behind 14-2 in the first quarter and never recovered. Graham Boyd had 10 points and five rebounds with Dayshawn Boykins adding nine points for the Panthers, who drop to 4-8.
St. Philip 54, Jackson Christian 27
St. Philip won for the fourth time in the last five outings to improve to 6-7 overall. Colt Myers had 18 points to lead the Tigers with Jackson Dzwik getting 13 points and Carter Dzwik adding 10.
Olivet 71, Stockbridge 46
Olivet improved to 13-0 and 7-0 in the league. Bo Lincoln had 20 points, six rebounds, six steals and five assists to lead the Eagles. Bryce Wine had 16 points, including three 3-pointers, with Brayden Wine adding 13 points and eight rebounds.
Galesburg-Augusta 61, Delton Kellogg 40
Galesburg-Augusta rolled to 12-1 on the season with the Southwestern Athletic Conference Central Division win. Zach Eberstein and Nick Mann each had 13 points to lead the Rams. Delton Kellogg dropped to 6-7 as Philip Halacomb had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Bellevue 81, North Adams-Jerome 26
Bellevue climbed to 10-1 and stayed undefeated in the league. The Broncos led 32-8 after the first quarter. Bellevue had four players in double figures with Caleb Betz leading the way with 17 with Chase Graham adding 15, Dawson Wing had 13 and Nate Payne 12.
Litchfield 80, Athens 52
Addison Stanton had 32 points for Athens in the league loss.
Thursdays' Boys Basketball
Lakeview 53, Kalamazoo Central 52
Lakeview beat Kalamazoo Central for the first time in decades, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to improve to 9-3 and climb into a tie for first place in the SMAC East Division. LeBron Campbell had 25 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Spartans in the win. Bryce Plane and Jashaun Boggerty each added 10 points.
St. Joseph 77, Battle Creek Central 47
Playing their third road game in four days, the Bearcats ran out of gas and fell behind 32-22 by halftime before losing this SMAC non-division game to go to 10-5. Ke'Marion Tucker had 16 points to lead BCC .
Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @billbroderick.
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Notebook: Marshall girls start second half of league race with a win
