JENISON – The Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team did not make its record more attractive by scheduling tough non-conference games in December - but the Rockets undoubtedly benefitted from the experience.
The team’s improved play, following a series of defeats to powerful East Kentwood, West Ottawa and DeWitt last month, was evident in its 55-40 road victory over Jenison on Tuesday.
“We put some tough games on the schedule purposefully,” said Rockets head coach Rodney Walker. “We wanted to be battle-tested, and today you could see us getting over that hump a little bit.”
Senior guard Ariel Walker also believes the stiff competition helped her team get ready for the 2023 portion of its schedule.
R-P's Ariel Walker brings the ball up the court. Photo/Andrew Johnson
“We’ve been working on building our chemistry,” she said. “This game proved that whatever we’ve been doing is working. Those games helped a lot. We couldn’t see it in the moment but coming into games like this, where we know we’re supposed to win, it’s easier for us to work on both ends.”
The Rockets once again showed a lot of scoring depth on Tuesday with three different players collecting nine points or more.
Ariel Walker and Sophia Hekkema led the Rockets with 19 points apiece while Brooklynn Tornes finished with nine.
“I was pretty comfortable,” Walker said about her night, when she found her way to the rim a lot for easy buckets. “It makes it really easy when you know if you’re driving, you’ve got players on the wing who will knock down shots. It makes the game a lot easier.”
R-P's Brooklynn Tornes knocks the ball away from a Jenison player. Photo/Andrew Johnson
The Rockets led 16-8 after one quarter with four points from both Megan Barmes and Billie Tryska.
In the second quarter, Ariel Walker led the Rockets with seven points and Reeths-Puffer headed to the locker room with a 29-24 halftime lead.
A 17-10 third quarter advantage extended the R-P lead to 46-34. Hekkema led the way with seven points and Ariel Walker had six.
Hekkema scored five points while Ariel Walker added four in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
“We really have some people stepping up,” Coach Walker said about his team’s scoring depth. “Plus players like Brooklynn are really stepping up and putting the ball in perfect places for girls to score. Even our post players are doing a great job of shooting the ball.”
Tornes pushes the ball upcourt for the Rockets. Photo/Andrew Johnson
The Rockets are now 3-4 on the season and will open O-K Green conference play on Friday at Muskegon.
“We talked about it being a new year and a new season with it being 2023,” said Coach Walker, whose team had not played since Dec. 17. “I’m always looking at how we can get better, but we did a pretty good at attacking our weaknesses tonight.”
