Coldwater girls basketball loses first game of season in barnburner to Jackson Northwest
COLDWATER, MI. — Coldwater entered the new year on a roll, remaining unbeaten on the courts as the midway point of the 2022-23 basketball season draws near.
The Cardinals have been tested several times throughout their eight-game winning streak to kick off the year. But their biggest test by far came on the hardwood Tuesday at the Coach Floyd Eby Gymnasium at Coldwater High School as Coldwater hosted Jackson Northwest. This game pitted the top two teams in the conference versus one another, with one destined to leave the night with their first conference loss.
In the end, the Cardinals battled. However, it was Coldwater that suffered its first loss of the season, falling to a very good Northwest squad, 50-46.
The game was a back-and-forth affair from the opening tip, with the two top teams in the Interstate 8 trading big plays throughout all 32 minutes of play. Coldwater looked to take an early advantage heading into the second quarter after an Elli Foley 3-pointer from the corner pushed the Cardinals lead to 6-2 late in the quarter, however, a free throw from Northwest followed by a steal in the backcourt and a lay up at the buzzer closed the score to 6-5 in favor of the Cardinals after one.
A quick 6-0 run for the Mounties out of the break allowed Northwest to build a small 11-6 lead, however, buckets from Jaelah Sloan and Rylie Van Aken, on an assist from Cara Miller, closed the score to 11-10.
The teams took turns with runs for the remainder of the second quarter, with Northwest building small leads only to see the Cardinals come right back. The Mounties managed a 21-15 lead after a jumper in the lane late however buckets from Coley Burkhardt on a beautiful back door cut, followed by a free throw from Foley, closed the score to 21-18. Foley missed the second of the two free throws and an offensive rebound and kick-out back to Foley from Burkhardt for a triple tied the score at 21-21 heading into the half.
Another 6-0 run for Northwest out of the break extended their lead to 27-21 however Coldwater battled right back thanks to big buckets from Van Aken, Sloan, and Burkhardt. Eventually, the score was knotted up again at 30-30 after a Van Aken triple from the wing at the buzzer to the third quarter, sending the game to the fourth and final quarter tied at 30-30 with the fate still very much in doubt.
The fourth quarter was everything a battle between the two top teams in the conference should be, and more. Each team answered the other's biggest shots with huge shots of their own, as neither team was willing to let the other get away. Northwest managed to build a small 37-32 lead after two free throws however a Sloan triple, followed by two Burkhardt free throws tied the game up once again at 37-37.
The teams again traded buckets to stay tied at 39-39 however back-to-back triples from the Mounties, sandwiched around a Burkhardt jumper, followed by two Northwest free throws pushed the Mounties into the lead late in the quarter at 46-41.
Coldwater refused to quit, however, starting off with a Mya Porter bucket in the post on an entry pass from Van Aken, closing the score to 46-43. Coldwater was forced to foul to extend the game after that, with Northwest hitting both free throws to extend their lead to 48-43.
Coldwater turned the ball over on their next possession however a huge Burkhardt steal on the other end led to an even bigger triple from Sloan, who played perhaps her best game at the varsity level, closing the score to 48-46.
After another Coldwater foul led to a split of free throws from Northwest, the Cardinals found themselves down 49-46 with less than 20 seconds left on the clock. The Mounties let the clock run down on defense as Coldwater looked for an open shot, however, Northwest still had a foul to give, fouling the Cardinal ball handler with 4.1 seconds left to play.
Coldwater looked to inbound and get a chance at a three but some very stingy Northwest defense on the inbound led to a 5-second violation on the Cardinals, giving the Mounties the ball back. Northwest was fouled on their inbound and hit one of two free throws and the Cardinals could not get any more shots off as it was Northwest taking the exciting 50-46 victory.
“We played with a great deal of heart and a high compete level against a very talented team and I couldn’t be any more proud of this group of girls,” said Coldwater head coach Ken Smoker. “We have talked about not accepting little things in victory that we wouldn’t accept in defeat and there were a lot of little things that added up in a four point loss tonight. This is our first case of adversity for this group but I am confident that they will come back ready to work and prepare to play Pennfield on Friday.”
Coldwater was led on the night by Elli Foley who had a solid all-around game with 14 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Jaelah Sloan had a monster game in extended playing time, scoring 11 points to go with three rebounds, one assist and a steal.
Also adding to the Coldwater effort was Rylie Van Aken with nine points and three assists; Coley Burkhardt with eight points, nine rebounds, two steals and one assist; Mya Porter with four points, four rebounds and two assists; Emma Porter with two rebounds; Cara Miller with three assists and one rebound; and Danika Cox with three rebounds.
Northwest was led on the night by Layne Sleight with 17 points while Ashley Weller and Mara Mitchell added 15 points each.
With the win, Northwest improves to 8-1 overall on the season and 3-0 in in the Interstate 8. The Mounties will next see action Friday when they host Hastings.
With the tough loss, Coldwater falls to 8-1 overall on the season and 3-1 in the Interstate 8. Coldwater will look to bounce back from its first loss of the year on Friday when it hosts Pennfield for Hall of Fame night.
Coldwater JV girls fall, freshman win
COLDWATER, MI. — The Coldwater JV and Freshman Lady Cardinal basketball teams faced off with Northwest Tuesday night, coming away with the split in Interstate 8 action.
In the JV contest, it was Northwest taking the win, defeating Coldwater by the score of 36-14.
Coldwater was led on the night by Ta’Viayah Hughes and Natalee Wilson with four points each.
In the freshman game, it was Coldwater taking a hard-fought 24-13 victory.
Coldwater was led by Madison Stumpf with 15 points.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater girls drop first game of season in loss to Jackson Northwest
