ROCKFORD – The Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team’s season ended in a quiet fashion on Monday night with a 61-27 Division 1 district tournament loss to rival Muskegon at Rockford High School
The Rockets closed out with a 9-13 record and will say goodbye to three seniors.
“Every one of them has a different personality,” said head coach Rodney Walker about seniors Brooklynn Tornes, Megan Barmes and Irelyn Niklasch. “They all did a great job of leading a young team and I’m extremely proud of how they stepped up this season. They did a great job of leading with their actions.”
R-P's Brooklynn Tornes tries to get by two defenders. Photo/Joe Lane
The Rockets were challenged from the beginning when Muskegon opened the game on a 12-0 run over the first 3:07.
Reeths-Puffer responded, closing the quarter on a 10-3 run to cut the Muskegon lead to 15-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Tornes had seven of the 10 points for the Rockets, who shot 4-for-17 from the field.
The biggest trouble came in the second quarter, when the Rockets failed to score a point and found themselves trailing 26-10 at halftime.
R-P's Irelyn Niklasch takes a shot. Photo/Joe Lane
R-P was 0-for-8 from the field and turned the ball over three times in the second quarter.
“They disrupted a lot of things we like to do,” Walker said about how the Muskegon defense shut down his squad. “They took Brooklynn out of the game and made others handle the ball to try and make plays. We just weren’t able to do that.”
Muskegon outscored the Rockets 14-8 in the third quarter, which made the score 40-18 heading into the fourth. The Rockets allows the Big Reds to grab 10 offensive rebounds in the third.
Tornes tries to block a Muskegon shot. Photo/Joe Lane
Muskegon outscored Reeths-Puffer 21-9 over the final eight minutes to cruise to the victory. The Big Reds will take on Rockford in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Reeths-Puffer was led by Tornes with 17 points and Niklasch with eight rebounds.
“It was very tough,” Walker said. “We prepared to win the game. Obviously, Muskegon came out and was just able to control the tempo of the game from beginning to end. They did a great job of dominating the game and we couldn’t even make a run. Just one of those nights.”
