GRAND HAVEN - It’s always really nice to get a victory in the first game of the season.
And if your team has to lose, a close and competitive contest is certainly preferable.
The Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team did not get to enjoy either of those options on Tuesday. They opened the season against a very powerful Grand Haven squad and took a pretty good beating, 46-25, on the Buccaneers’ home court.
The Rockets, with all five starters back from last season, expect to be significantly better than last year’s 5-17 squad. But they are still very young, with mostly juniors and sophomores on the court, and are clearly a ways away from competing with the likes of Grand Haven.
R-P's Raquel Walker (22), who led the team with 14 points. Photo/Noah Peterson
So why did the Rockets schedule a season-opening game against a team like the Buccaneers, who were 22-4 and advanced to the Division 1 state quarterfinals last season?
“I always feel like it’s good to get battle-tested early,” said R-P head coach Rodney Walker. “That gives us a chance to recognize and fine tune some things we need to work on. Every opponent is not going to be a Grand Haven.”
Walker feels certain that the one-sided loss will be a lesson-learner for the Rockets, rather than a confidence-shaker.
“With the conversation we had at the end of the game, I know it’s going to be a lesson-learner,” he said. “I pointed out a lot of the good things we were able to do toward the end of the game, and if we could have matched that energy from the start, the gap would not have been as big. The girls are very receptive to working on the things we need to focus on.”
R-P's Grace Tindall takes a shot. Photo/Noah Peterson
The Rockets struggled in a lot of ways, but the game really boiled down to one major factor – R-P had a terrible time against the Bucs’ full-court press, and were unable to get much of any offense going until the fourth quarter, when it was too late.
R-P had 28 turnovers in the game, including 17 in the first half. As a result, they only scored five points in the first quarter, two in the second and six in the third.
After a relatively slow start, Grand Haven took full advantage, rolling to leads of 12-5 after one quarter, 28-7 at halftime and 43-13 after three.
The Rockets outscored the Bucs 12-3 in the fourth quarter, after the home team emptied its bench. Raquel Walker scored 12 of her team-leading 14 points in the final quarter.
R-P's Ashlyn David takes a jump shot. Photo/Noah Peterson
Walker also had three rebounds and four assists. Ashlyn David snagged five boards for R-P.
Mallory Woitesshek, Grand Haven’s standout 6-foot-3 post player, led her team with 18 points.
“I thought we did a great job of making it tough for them to make shots early in the game, then they started to press,” Coach Walker said. “There are a lot of things we need to work on in terms of breaking the press. We watched a lot of film and tried to prepare for it, but you just don’t get the same intensity during your practice preparations.”
The Rockets will travel to Zeeland East for another non-conference game on Friday night.