Petoskey girls lean on hot-shooting first half to top TC West
PETOSKEY — A great first half can sometimes be all a team needs to push them to victory on the court.
That was true on Friday night in the Petoskey High School gym, as a big shooting first half from the Petoskey girls’ basketball team saved the Northmen in the end against visiting Traverse City West.
In a tale of two halves night – which came with Petoskey hitting four 3-pointers in the first half and just two baskets total in the second half – Petoskey’s 20-point advantage on the Titans after two quarters became the difference in a 35-18 victory for the Northmen.
For Petoskey coach Bryan Shaw, both halves came down to turnovers, the good and the bad.
“We played well in that first half,” he said. “We cut down on a lot of turnovers. The second half, we just lost focus I think. The second half we had to work on cutting down turnovers.”
Petoskey broke West’s press throughout the first quarter, then when the Titans pulled it off in the second, the Northmen set up the offense with ease and knocked down three 3-pointers in the quarter.
The victory moved Petoskey to 6-6 overall on the season and 3-2 within the Big North, a key league win for Shaw’s team with five BNC games remaining on the schedule still.
“We were tied with them in the conference at 2-2, so that’s a huge win for us,” said Shaw. “Now, we have to go down there in a week and a half and play them down there.”
Petoskey held an 11-2 advantage after the opening quarter, with Caroline Guy closing the first on a three near the buzzer.
The Northmen used that momentum in the second quarter, as Ellie Pollion opened the second with a mid-range jumper, then knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 16-2.
West’s first basket didn’t come until 3:20 in the second, then Petoskey closed the first half on an 8-0 run, aided by back to back 3-pointers from Caroline Guy that closed the first half with a 24-4 advantage for the Northmen.
“That’s the best we’ve seen her,” said Shaw on Guy’s big first half. “She’s been playing a lot better in practice. Ellie hit a big shot. I thought Hope (Wegmann) and Eva Guy played well on both ends of the court and then Hayley (Flynn) and Kenzie (Bromley), they did what they do. It’s good to see some of our girls play well that have been waiting to play well.”
As good as the first half came for Petoskey, things fell apart in the third quarter, though the defense remained intact for Shaw.
Petoskey was held without a basket and just a couple free throws in the third, but still led 26-10 after three.
The fourth then came with Eva Guy hitting a three, then a perfect trip at the line, which brought some life back into the Northmen and made it 32-13.
West kept on their comeback attempt, though the gap never really closed much in the end.
Caroline Guy finished with 11 points and a pair of blocks to lead, Eva Guy had seven points Pollion and Bromley each scored six and Grayson Guy had 10 rebounds. Bromley also had five rebounds and three steals.
Along with the win, Petoskey also hosted its annual pink game and Snowcoming, where Shaw’s daughter, Maddie Shaw, was named Snowcoming queen at halftime. Dylan Aldridge was named the Snowcoming king.
Petoskey will next head to Cheboygan on Monday, Jan. 31 for a non-conference matchup and the second of the season against Cheboygan. The Northmen previously earned a 54-39 win in December.
Petoskey will then host Gaylord on Friday, Feb. 4 in a return to Big North action.
Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey girls lean on hot-shooting first half to top TC West
