NORTON SHORES - The Reeths-Puffer girls basketball players are one calm and collected group.
They’ve been giving their fans nervous conditions lately, to be sure, but the players themselves never panic.
Any number of times in recent weeks, the Rockets have fallen behind in games but always found a way to win.
It happened again on Tuesday night, when R-P traveled to Mona Shores to face a talented and determined group of Sailors who wanted to knock the Rockets off their perch.
R-P's Brooklynn Tornes launches a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
R-P withstood Mona Shores’ barrage of three-pointers in the first half, stole the lead with a huge third quarter, then held strong when the Sailors fought back to force OT.
Reeths-Puffer took control when it mattered most, outscoring Mona Shores 11-6 in OT to claim a very big 64-59 victory.
“I think it’s because we’ve been down a lot this year, and we try to make sure the girls stay settled,” said R-P Coach Rodney Walker, when asked about his team's character in the face of adversity. “Basketball is always a game of runs. We were able to keep the margin close, and I think we did a great job of settling down in the third quarter.
“I think that’s what makes championship teams, when you can pull out the tough victories.”
One Rocket who really displayed a calm demeanor in overtime was junior guard Brooklynn Tornes.
Sophia Hekkema, who led the Rockets with 21 points, drives toward the basket. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Sailors scored the first basket in OT, then Tornes immediately answered with a jumper and a three-point bucket to give R-P a lead that lasted all the way to the end.
Ariel Walker also had a triple and two free throws in the extra session to help nail down the win.
“We knew what was on the line,” said Tornes, who also had a free throw in OT. “We shared the conference (championship) last year, and we don’t want to do that again this year. We just calm down when we have to and focus on ourselves.”
Tornes’ contributions were not lost on Coach Walker
“Brooklynn Tornes down the stretch was huge,” he said. “Every bucket she made gave us a huge opportunity to win.”
Ariel Walker launches a three-point attempt for R-P. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets have now won a wildly impressive 13 games in a row, and the latest victory guaranteed them at least a share of the O-K Green conference championship.
R-P can wrap up the title for itself with a win over Holland at home on Friday night in the final conference game of the season.
Holland entered this week with a shaky 3-17 record, but Coach Walker is not taking anything for granted, and he wants to make sure the players don’t either.
“Every team knows where we are standing and we have a huge target on our backs,” said the coach, whose team is now 16-5 overall and 12-1 in conference play. “No team is an easy win in this conference. We keep reminding the girls, you cannot chalk up a win before you play the game. We have to make sure we stay locked in and focused.”
Mona Shores made a big statement in the first half by nailing seven three pointers. Khaleeya Cook made three of them, Ali Phillips added two and the Sailors led 20-12 after one quarter and 32-26 at halftime.
R-P's Megan Barmes looks for a pass. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets accepted the three-point challenge and put on a show of their own. They had three triples in the second quarter – two by Walker and one by Sophia Hekkema – to prevent a potential blowout, then poured in four more in the third quarter (two apiece by Walker and Hekkema) and led 49-42 headed into the fourth.
The Rockets opened the third with a 15-5 run, outscored the Sailors 23-10 in the quarter, and seemed in control of the game.
But Mona Shores wasn’t done.
The Sailors outscored R-P 11-4 in the fourth quarter, tied the game 53-53 with just under a minute left, then nobody scored the rest of the way. The game went to overtime, the Rockets’ rediscovered their offense with the big buckets from Tornes and Walker and came away with the huge win.
Hekkema finished with 21 points, including 10 in the third quarter, to lead R-P. Walker totaled 18 points and Tornes finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Billie Tryska added nine points and five rebounds for R-P.
Cook led Mona Shores with 15 points.
