Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark
FREMONT — Peter Zerfas is a veteran coach, but he’s a rookie when it comes to girls basketball.
He enjoyed his tenure as Fremont’s longtime boys basketball coach, but he’s asked himself more than once this season: What took so long to make the switch over to the girls game?
After all, this stuff is fun, especially when you’re winning titles and making history, as the Packers did on their home floor Tuesday night. Fremont’s tough 42-38 victory over Ludington secured the program’s first outright conference title since 1978.
Fremont coach Peter Zerfas (Courtney Jimison | CatchMark)
Fremont closed West Michigan Conference Lakes Division play with a 12-0 record, and the Packers are 17-4 overall entering tonight’s regular-season finale at Fruitport.
In 2020, Fremont shared a Central State Activities Association Gold Division title with Big Rapids.
Ludington finished runner-up in the WMC Lakes at 10-2, snapping a five-year streak of league titles — four of them in the Lakes 8 Activities Conference prior to joining the West Michigan Conference last school year.
“I told the girls from day 1 that the conference championship goes through Ludington. They had won five in a row and I have the utmost respect for coach (Warren) Stowe and the program he runs,” Zerfas said.
“I thought if Ludington was able to keep the score and the pace of the game low, we would have a hard time. We like to speed the game up. Well, the pace was slow because Ludington plays great defense. They are long and athletic and do a great job limiting shots. What kept us in the game and ultimately won the game was our defense. We showed we can win a grind-it out style game as well as a fast-paced game.”
Fremont senior Jessica Bennett scored seven of her 10 points in the pivotal fourth quarter, similar to when she helped spark the Packers in their 41-35 victory at Ludington on Jan. 23.
Fremont junior Riley Chase scored 11 of her team-high 13 points in the second half. Freshman Taylor DeKuiper had seven points and 10 rebounds, while junior Mia Clemence added five points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Junior Jordyn Anderson paced Ludington with 12 points, while juniors Peyton Welch and Jennah Skiba scored eight and seven points, respectively, for the Orioles.
RELATED CONTENT
