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Offensive balance, defense power Montague girls past Whitehall in Game of the Week

Wildcats complete regular-season sweep of rival Vikings after overcoming rough first quarter.

Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark

WHITEHALL — Nothing went right for Montague’s girls basketball team in the first quarter of the CatchMark SportsNet West Michigan Conference Game of the Week Friday at rival Whitehall.

In the second half, it seemed as if the Wildcats could do no wrong.

Montague cruised to a 51-27 victory over Whitehall to complete the regular-season sweep. It didn’t start well for the Wildcats, who trailed 5-0 after the first quarter, but they rebounded for a 13-11 halftime lead and erupted for 38 second-half points while sharing and moving the ball well.

See the photo gallery at the top of this story and watch the livestream replay here:

Below are more details and notables from the game:

  • In the teams’ first meeting on Dec. 8, Montague defeated Whitehall, 44-34, but the Wildcats lost standout junior Kendall Osborne for the season with a knee injury. In that game, Montague senior Emma Peterson scored a career-high 21 points.
  • On Friday, Peterson scored only five points, but she was the floor leader and controlled the game. The point guard added seven assists and six rebounds en route to being named the CatchMark SportsNet Player of the Game. See a TikTok on her here:
@catchmark.sportsnet

CatchMark SportsNet’s Scott DeCamp picks Montague senior Emma Peterson as Player of the Game in the West Michigan Conference Game of the Week Friday night. Montague beat Whitehall, 51-27. #fyp #catchmark #CSN #catchmarksportsnet #catchmarksports #basketball #montague #whitehall #westmichigan

♬ Red Eye – Jaylon Ashaun & Sanni & Jude Barclay
  • Montague juniors Ella King and Britta Johnson paced their team with 10 points apiece. King added three rebounds and two assists, while Johnson had three boards and she was lauded by coach Nick Thaler for her tough defense.
  • Montague sophomore Addison Pranger finished with seven points and four rebounds, while sophomore Amanda Cederquist also scored seven to go with four boards.
  • Montague sophomores Adilynn Peterson and Braylyn Bultema added five and four points, respectively. Bultema also had five rebounds.
  • Montague senior Haylee Schwarz snagged a team-high seven rebounds.
  • Whitehall senior Onnyka Dempsey scored a game-high 11 points.
  • Whitehall senior Autumn Ferris added six points, while senior Lucy Zamojcin chipped in four points.
  • Montague answered Whitehall’s 5-0 first quarter with a 12-0 run to open the second quarter.
  • Thaler said that his son, Calvin, counts the number of high-fives that the Wildcats give each other. Per Thaler, that number was a whopping 234 Friday night.
  • Montague improves to 9-5 overall and 6-2 in the WMC Lakes Division. Next Thursday, the Wildcats host first-place Ludington in the CatchMark SportsNet WMC Game of the Week.
  • Whitehall saw its five-game winning streak snapped. The Vikings are now 8-6 overall and 3-5 in the WMC Lakes Division.
  • Next games: Montague travels to Mason County Central Tuesday for a WMC nondivisional test. Whitehall heads to Newaygo Monday for a nonleague contest.

Lead writer for CatchMark SportsNet and Web Services leader for CatchMark Technologies.

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