MUSKEGON TWP. – The Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team has a lot of promising young players who are evolving into a good squad.
But at this point in their development, they still seem pretty dependent on their top scorer, sophomore Raquel Walker.
At least that seemed to be the case on Monday night, after the Rockets rallied from an 11-point deficit early in the fourth quarter and pulled within one point of visiting Caledonia.
Unfortunately Walker was injured with about five minutes left, when one of her teeth was apparently chipped during a rough play.
R-P's Trinity Moore (23). Photo/Nick Fuller
She left the game at that point, and the Rockets struggled the rest of the way, scoring only one more point in a 41-30 loss to the Fighting Scots in an O-K Green conference matchup at R-P’s Dan Beckeman Arena.
Reeths-Puffer lost its fifth straight game and fell to 5-6 overall on the season and 0-3 in the conference standings.
It was a rough night all the way around for the Rockets, who did not play particularly well in a game that was probably winnable.
R-P made only 12 of 40 field goal attempts and converted only 3 of 10 free throws. They also struggled with Caledonia’s full-court press and had 17 turnovers, including 11 in the pivotal second half.
The Rocket offense kind of fizzled as the game went on. After putting up 16 shots in the first quarter, they managed only nine, eight, and seven attempts, respectively, in each of the last three quarters.
R-P's Raquel Walker drives toward the basket. Photo/Nick Fuller
Caledonia wasn’t much better, however, which kept the game relatively close until the final few minutes.
"It was a tough shooting night,” said R-P head coach Rodney Walker. “That just goes to the pressure they put on us. They did a good job of disrupting the things we wanted to do offensively. That pretty much decided the game, for sure.”
The Fighting Scots led 8-6 after one quarter, 20-14 at halftime and 28-19 heading into the fourth.
Caledonia’s Olivia Foster had a steal and layup about 20 seconds into the final quarter, making the score 30-19.
Then the Rockets came to life, going on a 10-0 run in a little over two minutes and narrowing the score to 30-29.
R-P's Ashlyn David (33) goes for a layup. Photo/Nick Fuller
Walker started the spurt with a layup, Addison Mitchelson hit a triple, Ashlyn David tossed in a layup and Grace Tindall nailed another three-pointer.
Moments later Walker was involved in the play that chipped her tooth, left the game and did not return. It apparently happened during a scramble for a loose ball.
Coach Walker was upset, believing the injury resulted from unnecessarily rough play, and he was critical of the officiating.
“You could see for the entire game, there were hard fouls,” he said. “That’s taught. It’s a game plan and we’ve got to learn to play through that game plan. But for the most part, I thought on both ends of the court, (the game) was not called fair.”
Coach Walker, who is Raquel Walker’s father, said he believes the chipped tooth can be repaired by a dentist. He added that she was still in some pain after the game.
R-P's Jaslynn Kops (2). Photo/Nick Fuller
“I think I’m going to have to get her some Tylenol tonight,” he said.
There was a delay in the game following the injury, then Caledonia took control, outscoring R-P 11-1 the rest of the way.
The Rockets were 0-for-3 from the floor down the stretch and had five turnovers.
Coach Walker said his players remained positive and worked hard until the end, despite the loss of their top scorer.
David gets ready to shoot a free throw. Photo/Nick Fuller
“After all of that, part of it was just keeping the girls positive the rest of the way, and they did a good job of that,” he said. “Our girls played hard.”
Walker led R-P with 11 points, Mitchelson added six with two-three pointers, and David and Trinity Moore each scored five points.
Foster scored a game-high 16 points for Caledonia.
The Rockets will return to action on Friday night in another conference game at Jenison.