MUSKEGON TWP. - For a talented young team to really get rolling, all of the key players have to start to reach their full potential.
For the Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team, one of those key players is junior guard Jaslynn Kops.
Kops has been strong in a lot of areas all season, but head coach Rodney Walker has been hoping she would start to take advantage of her offensive skills and score more points.
Kops did that on Friday night, chipping in nine points to help the surging Rockets blow out Jenison 57-23 on Friday night at R-P’s Dan Beckeman Arena.
R-P's Jaslynn Kops goes for a layup. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The victory was the fourth in the row for R-P, which is now 10-9 overall and finished the O-K Green conference season with a 4-6 mark. The Rockets will wrap up the regular season with non-conference home games against Grand Rapids Christian and Ludington next week.
Kops was an all-around sparkplug for R-P, totaling six big steals, six rebounds (including three on the offensive end) and three assists.
But it was the scoring that really caught Coach Walker’s eye, because she has the ability to put the ball in the hoop, and the Rockets need her to do so.
“She had a really good breakout game offensively,” the coach said. “She can shoot really well and I am always trying to get her to shoot. She is always looking for assists, but tonight she really just stepped up and took over and gave us that drive to play with a lot of energy.”
R-P's Raquel Walker, who had 22 points and 15 rebounds. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The victory provided further evidence that the Rockets are finding their groove at the perfect time, with districts just around the corner.
Some of the wins are starting to be blowouts, or at least comfortable victories. Besides Friday’s easy win, the Rockets beat Mona Shores by 23 points in the game that started the current streak, and downed a pretty good Byron Center team by 10.
Friday’s win might have been the Rockets’ most complete performance of the season.
They dominated offensively, with a lot of great work on the offensive boards creating second and third chances, and defensively, holding the Wildcats to single figures in all four quarters.
R-P's Ashlyn David fights for a rebound. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“The last four games for us have been rally solid, defensively and offensively,” Coach Walker said. “We’ve been doing a great job of creating turnovers and finishing. We’ve been doing a great job of rebounding.
“It’s also the confidence that all of the girls are shooting with. It’s not just one or two people that opponents can key on. Other girls may not be tearing up the scorebook, but they have been hitting key shots at crucial times in the last four games.”
The Rockets started off slowly, missing their first six shots from the floor and falling behind 6-1.
Then Raquel Walker hit a layup about midway through the first quarter, sparking a 10-0 run that left R-P with an 11-6 lead heading into the second quarter.
The teams traded buckets to start the second, then the Rockets went on an 11-1 run and led 24-9 at halftime. Kops led the way with five points in the second quarter.
Kops looks for a pass from under the basket. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Walker put an exclamation point on the offensive burst by hitting a long triple that was in the air when the halftime buzzer sounded.
The Rockets kept piling on with a 19-9 advantage in the third quarter. Walker paced R-P with eight points.
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R-P emptied the bench in the fourth quarter, but still had a 14-5 advantage. Walker and Olivia Ambler each had four points down the stretch.
Raquel Walker had a huge game, finishing with a game-high 22 points, 15 rebounds three assists and two steals. Ashlyn David had nine points and 11 rebounds.