MUSKEGON TWP. - It was the same old story for the Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team on Thursday night - and it’s turning out to be a pretty fun recurring plot.
The Rockets have been playing really great defense for most of the young season, particularly late in games, and it keeps producing wins.
It happened again on Thursday night, when they switched to their stifling zone defense – a look they refer to as “the monster” - after giving up too many layups in the first half and falling behind by seven points.
The plan worked to perfection. After surrendering 21 points in the first half, the Rockets limited Forest Hills Central to 11 in the second and captured an exciting 37-32 come-from-behind victory over the Rangers at R-P’s Dan Beckeman Arena.
Grace Tindall, who had 17 points, including five three-pointers. Photo/Jeremy Clark
R-P’s Raquel Walker and Grace Tindall combined for 34 points - 17 apiece – just enough offense to get the job done.
Reeths-Puffer is now 4-1 on the season, and has not been beaten since a tough opening-night loss to state power Grand Haven. The young Rockets, with a lineup full of juniors and sophomores, are now just one victory shy of matching last year's win total of five.
R-P has closed out its four victories with various defensive schemes, but on Thursday “the monster” was exactly what the doctor ordered.
The object of “the monster” is simple zone defense philosophy– to keep opponents from penetrating the lane and getting easy buckets or drawing fouls.
The Rockets just execute it really well, forming an iron wall that keeps opponents on the outside looking in, and focusing hard on opponents’ best perimeter shooters to make sure they don’t have easy looks.
R-P's Raquel Walker (22) fights for the ball. Photo/Jeremy Clark
It proved to be the difference against Forest Hills Central, which made 9 of 22 shots from the floor in the first half, but only 5 of 23 in the second.
The Rocked D also created havoc for the visitors with 17 steals.
“We knew exactly what we were going to do – in the second half go back into the monster, which is what we call our 3-2 zone,” said R-P head coach Rodney Walker. “We do a pretty good job of making it tough, not allowing anyone to drop in the gaps and get layups on us. If you can make threes, you’re going to hurt us, but if you can’t consistently, we are going to have an advantage.”
While defense has been the Rockets’ calling card so far this season, the offense is coming along.
Trinity Moore (23) dribbles toward the basket. Photo/Jeremy Clark
In most of the games this season, sophomore standout Raquel Walker has carried much of the scoring load herself, but that’s starting to change.
Walker had another great night, getting most of her points with her signature drives to the bucket, while Tindall got very hot from the outside, pumping in five triples.
The Rockets could have actually won by a bigger margin, but they missed a ton of shots that seemed to be on the mark, but just clanked around the rim and fell away too often.
R-P was only 14-for-47 from the floor, but Coach Walker still likes the way the attack is trending.
“Every girl on this team can shoot the ball really well,” he said. “In practice everyone is knocking down shots. Eventually I think we’re going top get more balance from all of our players offensively.
Walker goes in for a layup. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“Tonight was a breakout night for Grace. She worked hard all summer to get that shot to fall, and hopefully this game will give her the confidence to continue.”
The game was an exciting back and forth affair from start to finish.
Forest Hills Central hit two early three-pointers and led 6-0, but the Rockets battled back and led 11-10 after one quarter. Walker had six points in the first, Tindall added a three and Addison Mitchelson knocked down a pair of free throws.
The second quarter belonged to the Rangers, who outscored R-P 11-3 and took a 21-14 halftime lead. The Rockets were 1-for-8 from the floor in the quarter, had four turnovers and missed two free throws.
Reeths-Puffer regrouped at halftime, outscored the Rangers 14-4 in the third quarter and took a 28-25 lead into the fourth.
Tindall had eight points in the big quarter, including two triples, while Walker added five points.
Ashlyn David takes a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The fourth quarter had a lot of drama, and both teams had a chance to win.
Forest Hills Central opened with a 5-0 run and took a 30-28 lead. The Rockets responded with a 5-2 spurt, with a layup from Walker and another three from Tindall, and led 33-32 with five minutes left.
There was no more scoring until Walker had a steal and layup with 1:18 remaining, making the score 35-32.
The Rangers managed to launch four three-point attempts in the time that was left, but they all missed the mark. Walker added a layup as time expired and Reeths-Puffer got another win.
Walker had eight rebounds for R-P while Abrianna Do added six. Walker and Kops each had three assists.