Georgia Kuyers, Zeeland West girls top rival East with pressure defense

ZEELAND - The Zeeland East-West girls rivalry started with low-scoring defensive battle.

But a 40-second span completely changed the game, propellign the Dux to a 43-30 win over the Chix on Friday at Zeeland East.

Zeeland West's Desi Kuyers scored in the paint. After a steal, Jordyn Klaasen hit a 3-pointer, then Georgia Kuyers grabbed another steal and scored with 2.9 seconds remaining in the first quarter. She was fouled, hit the free throw and the game went from 6-6 to 14-6 quickly.

The Dux didn't look back and earned the rivalry win.

"It's a pretty big win," Georgia Kuyers said. "We are really excited to beat East. The rivalry between the schools is really head-on. We are really glad to pull out a win."

The Dux (4-4) continued to clamp down on the defensive side of the ball in the second quarter and led 23-11 at halftime.

"We were picking it up full court and applying as much pressure as we could, trying to get tips and some turnovers," Zeeland West coach Ryan Lane said. "Georgia was pretty phenomenal up top for us, getting deflections. She is quick and has long arms and she disrupted the passing lanes."

The same trend continued in the second half.

Zeeland West constantly pressed and double-teamed to force a plethora of turnovers and keep the Chix from finding any sort of offensive rhythm. Georgia Kuyers was in the middle of the action defensively, getting steals and tips at a fast clip.

Subscribe:Get the most local sports with this offer

"We brought what we needed to defensively," Kuyers said. "We did pretty well with getting their long passes and trapping them. We made them uncomfortable and they couldn't attack."

Meanwhile, Georgia Kuyers closed the third quarter with a one-handed buzzer-beater just inside the 3-point line to put the Dux up 33-17 after three quarters.

"It was just my instinct to try and chuck it up there. I wasn't expecting anyone to be behind me, so it went in. I was ecstatic. It was my favorite part of the game," Kuyers said.

The sophomore's emergence on both sides of the ball has been a huge layer for the Dux.

"She has been huge for us," Lane said. "Having an extra scorer is big. She has always given that hustle and been a good rebounder. She has really stepped up and we are hoping she continues to grow."

Kuyers said the opportunity to make varsity as a sophomore jumpstarted her growth in the offseason.

"Over the summer, I did my best to push myself because I could have been on J.V. or varsity. I was really happy to get the chance to try out and I pushed as hard as I could," she said. "I was able to start picking up the varsity pace. I wanted to be a good hustler and a good teammate."

Mirra Fenlon pulled the Chix within 33-22 with a 3, but Klaasen quickly scored and the Dux were able to hold off their rival.

Klaasen and Kara Bartels each scored 15 to lead the Dux.

Fenlon had 11 for the Chix, who played much better in the second half.

"Instead of sitting there at halftime and thinking about the mistakes we made, we highlighted the hustle that we had and we really decided to turn up the energy in the second half, and it all started on defense," senior Rachel Miller said. "The fact that we came out stronger showed a lot of improvement in for us. Going into the rest of the season, that shows us that we can come out and finish a game."

Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Zeeland West girls top rival East with pressure defense, led by Kuyers