Photos by Harper Leon for CatchMark
Holton girls basketball coach BJ Jordan was anticipating Monday night’s game at Whitehall to be a grind and that’s what developed.
His Red Devils earned a win, so it wasn’t all bad.
Holton defeated Whitehall, 30-27, in a West Michigan Conference nondivisional matchup.
“Monday games are typically a little sloppy — tonight did not disappoint,” Jordan said. “We just struggled all night on really everything. Hit one outside shot all night, shot terrible from the free-throw line, turned the ball over 20 times, didn’t rebound for anything, had trouble catching the ball.
“We are honestly lucky to get out of Whitehall with a win. The one bright spot was we were able to hold them to one (field goal) and three points in the fourth quarter and got a few big stops towards the end of the game.”
The contest was tied at 8 after one quarter and knotted at 17 at halftime. Holton outscored Whitehall 8-7 in the third and 5-3 in the fourth.
Holton improved to 8-2 overall on the season, while Whitehall is now 2-7.
Aubrey Goyings paced Holton with 13 points and nine rebounds. Ryann Robins had nine points and 10 rebounds, while Abbie Fowler added five assists and four steals.
Lexi Daggett paced Whitehall with a game-high 14 points, including four 3-pointers. She added eight rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Lucy Zamojcin had eight points, eight rebounds, two steals, and one assist for the Vikings.
Despite picking up the win, Jordan is looking at the big picture and sees where his Red Devils need to improve.
“We need to get our team intensity back to where it needs to be and fast. Every game from here on out is gonna be a game where if we don’t show up,. we won’t win,” he said. “We are 8-2 on the season, but I still feel we are not clicking on either end of the floor like we are capable of. But happy the girls were able to grind out a defensive struggle like tonight as there will be more down the road just like this.”
Whitehall junior Lexi Daggett (Courtney Jimison | CatchMark)
