Tiffany Karger sealing the defense for Rachael Ludtke
The last home game of the 2011 season for the Cedar Springs Girls Varsity basketball team was a slow-paced, low scoring game but it went well for the Red Hawks. Cedar led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, 12-10 after the second, 21-12 at the end of the third. The Red Hawks scored five more points in the fourth, and they Panthers came up with 8, but it wasn’t enough and the Red Hawks won 26-20.
All three seniors Meghan Andres, Lindsey Kline, and Maddie Bueche started the game. Leading scorer was Molly Holtrop with 7 points, followed by Tiffany Karger and Rachael Ludtke, who both put up 6, Hannah Wight with 3, and Chaya Coxon and Amber Milligan who each chipped in 2.
On Wednesday, February 25, the Red Hawks traveled to West Catholic to face the Falcons in a makeup game. The Red Hawks were behind from the outset, trailing behind 10-4 at the end of the first quarter, and 29-14 at half. They upped their game in the third, scoring 15 points and allowing only 7 for the Falcons, and ended the third behind by only 6 points. But West Catholic came on strong in the fourth, scoring 17 points and holding the Red Hawks to 7. Final score was West Catholic 53, Cedar Springs 36.
Leading scorer for the Red Hawks was Tiffany Karger with 11, followed by Molly Holtrop with 7, Chaya Coxon with 6 and Rachael Ludtke with 5. Nicolve Shevock, Brittany Todd, Amber Milligan and Lindsey Klein also scored.
The Red Hawks finished their last game of league play with a win on Friday, February 25, against Belding, putting them in 3rd place in the OK Blue Conference.
In their last meeting with Belding on January 28, they fell to the Redskins 49-34, so the Hawks came with a score to settle. The game was exciting through to the end, with four lead changes and being tied twice. Cedar came out strong and maintained the lead and finished the 1st quarter 14-8. Belding was no way backing down and out scored Cedar 14-11 in the 2nd quarter and closed the gap, with the Hawks still in the lead 25-22 at the end of the half. The Redskins came out after the break and outscored the Hawks 13-9, and finished the 3rd quarter ahead of the Hawks 35-34. Cedar came back strong in the 4th quarter and regained the lead, by out scoring Belding 18-9 and finished the game Cedar Springs 52-Belding 44.
“Belding’s guard Kelsey Pollack, who is going to play next year at Calvin, was a threat the entire game,” remarked Cedar Springs assistant coach Chad Wight. “She had 19 and was pesty defensively. But our girls faced the adversity well and played a solid game.”
Leading scorer was Rachael Ludtke with a double double 13 points and 13 rebounds; followed by Molly Holtrop with 11 points; Tiffany Karger 9 points and 9 rebounds; Hannah Wight with 7 points and 5 rebounds; Chaya Coxon with 6 points and 3 rebounds; Brittany Todd with 4 points and 1 rebound; Amber Milligan with 2 points; and Maddie Bueche with 1 rebound.
“It was great that we were hitting our shots,” said Wight. “We were shooting with more confidence, and the girls were sharing the ball for open looks. That was really the key to our win.”
