Cedar Springs girls basketball welcomed the Bengals of Ottawa Hills to the Red Flannel town last week  Tuesday for an OK Gold contest.  After a close first quarter, the Lady Red Hawks put their foot on the gas on the way to their highest output on the offensive end this season, winning 61-34.

Cedar Springs made 27 field goals (no 3-pointers) on the night. The team was led in scoring by junior Ella See, who totaled 14 points on the evening. Senior Avery Sparling poured in 10 points and added 5 assists, while sophomore Jessa Patin scored 8 points. Junior Darrah Miller led the team in rebounding with 7 and added 5 steals. Senior Kaelyn Colclasure had 7 assists and Senior Maggie Prins pulled down 6 rebounds.  

The Red Hawks were back at it two nights later as the traveled down 131 to take on league leading Wayland. Wayland held a slim 2-point lead after the first quarter before catching fire and building and taking a 15-point lead into the locker room at halftime.  

Cedar Springs never gave up, however, and chipped away at the Wildcat lead. On two different occasions the Red Hawks were able to get the game within striking distance in the second half, but were unable to pull off the come back, falling 51-64.  

Three Red Hawks scored in double figures led by Avery Sparling with 15 points.  Darrah Miller followed in scoring with 12 points (4-3 pointers) and tied for the team in lead in rebounding with 7. Senior Jenna Powell scored 10 points.

Kaelyn Colclasure pulled down 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists, while Maggie Prins also pulled own 7 rebounds.

The team was scheduled to play Greenville on Saturday, however, the game was cancelled due to COVID concerns within the Greenville program.

The Lady Red Hawks are back on the road for three games this week. See the schedule below or remaining regular season contests.

Remaining Schedule:

Tuesday, March 9th – @ FH Eastern (Freshman play Sparta @ FHE) 4:00, 5:30, 7:00pm

Friday, March 12th – @ Catholic Central 5:30, 7:00pm (no Freshman game)

Saturday, March 13th – @ Kent City Noon, 1:30

Freshman @ East Grand Rapids 5:30pm

Tuesday, March 16th – Home versus South Christian 4:00, 5:30, 7:00pm

Thursday, March 18th – Home versus Thornapple Kellogg 4:00, 5:30, 7:00pm

Creative Technologies Academy had two teams win conference championships this past week. Both the CTA women’s varsity basketball team and the CTA boys varsity basketball team earned the Great Lakes 6 League Conference Championship title.

The girls finished 7-1 in the league and hope to bring home the district title next week. The team swept the series 2-0 versus West Michigan Lutheran, Libertas Christian, and West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science. The girls split the series with Algoma Christian giving them their only loss. “The Lady Chargers have developed into a strong team led by returning captains, seniors Faith Watson and Hannah Hofstra,” shared Coach Lisa Perry. “Both girls have been leaders both on and off the court and will be missed next season.”

The boys finished 8-2 in league play and look forward to their district tournament. The boys are being led by senior caption Luke Hubbard who averaged 25.7 points per game and sophomore Ivan Winters who averaged 21.1 points per game. The conference came down to the last game where the Chargers defeated Barry County Christian by a score of 59-56. The Chargers swept the series 2-0 versus Algoma Christian, West Michigan Lutheran, and Hudsonville Libertas Christian. The boys split the series with West Michigan Academy of Environmental Sciences and Barry County Christian. Good luck to the Chargers as they look to bring home a district title next week.

The Cedar Springs Girls Basketball team picked up a pair of league road victories last week defeating Northview 34-15 on Tuesday and Lowell 49-40 on Friday.  

In both games the Red Hawks were able to get off to a fast start. Arianna Rau scored 6 points and Avery Sparling scored 5 points as Cedar jumped out to an 11-0 first quarter lead against Northview. Pressure defense forced multiple Northview turnovers and led to easy baskets for the team.  

Rau continued her strong performance inside in the second quarter scoring a pair of baskets. Rosie Pigorsh scored 4 points in the second as the ladies took a 21-3 lead into halftime.  

The Red Hawks maintained their lead throughout the low scoring second half.  Sparling and Pigorsh scored 4 points apiece and Maggie Prins chipped in 3 points in the half for the Red Hawks.  

Rau led all scorers with 12 points, while Sparling scored 9 points and hauled in 6 rebounds on the night. Pigorsh finished with 8 points.

On Friday, the Red Hawks traveled to Lowell to take on the Red Arrows. Another quick start saw Cedar jump to a 14-8 lead after the first quarter. Five points by Kaelyn Colclasure and 4 points by Kyla Andres led the team in the opening 8 minutes.  

The second quarter was much of the same as Cedar outscored Lowell 13-4 to take a 27-12 lead into halftime. Colclasure scored nailed a pair of three pointers and knocked down 4 free throws to score 10 points in the quarter (15 points in the first half).  

Lowell responded early in the third quarter scoring the first 7 points of the quarter to cut into the Red Hawk lead. Cedar led 33-25 at the end of three quarters.  

The fourth quarter saw a back and forth battle as every time Lowell tried to close the gap further Cedar Springs responded. Prins scored a pair of baskets, one a key offensive rebound put-back, and Jenna Powell nailed a three in the quarter.  

Colclasure led all scorers with 18 points followed by Rau with 8.  Rau hauled down all 12 of her game high rebound total in the second half.  Prins scored 7 points and had 8 rebounds on the evening.

The team faced off against Greenville Tuesday, and you can see those results in next week’s paper.

This Friday, February 28, they play at Home vs. Ottawa Hills, starting at 5:30 p.m. It will be senior night between the boys and girls games, and the benefit spaghetti dinner for boys basketball player Ryan Smith. 

On Monday, March 2, the team will play in the district game at Forest Hills  Northern at 6:00 p.m.

The Cedar Springs Girls Basketball team claimed two victories last week over Conference foes Northview and Lowell.  

After a slow start against Northview last Tuesday, the team turned up the heat defensively and cruised to a 42-15 victory.  

Taking a 7-2 lead after the first quarter, the Red Hawks put 15 on the board in the second quarter behind three pointers from Juniors Kaelyn Colclasure and Jenna Powell. Colclasure scored 7 of her 9 points in the quarter giving Cedar Springs a 22-9 lead going into the locker room.

The defense remained stingy in the second half allowing Northview 6 total points over the final 16 minutes for the 42-15 victory.  

Scoring was spread evenly among the team. Colclasure’s nine points led all scorers, followed closely by classmate Maggie Prins with 7.

On Friday, January 24, the Red Hawks welcomed the Red Arrows of Lowell to town.  A back and forth game, the Red Hawks showed up big in the fourth quarter and downed the Red Arrows 48-39 for their second consecutive victory.  

Cedar Springs fell behind 0-4 to start the game before Colclasure and Sophomore Darrah Miller each nailed a three pointer.  Another basket by Colclasure gave the Red Hawks an 8-6 lead after 1 quarter.  

The second quarter was a battle of the defenses as the Red Hawks held Lowell to 5 total points and Cedar Springs was only able to muster 6 points.  Cedar led 14-11 at halftime.  

Lowell came to life in the third quarter outscoring the Red Hawks 17-10.  Colclasure and Miller each scored a pair of baskets, but it was not enough as Lowell took over the lead, 24-28, after three quarters.

After falling behind by 7 points early in the fourth quarter, the Red Hawk defense started to shine and the offense hit its stride. Cedar Springs held Lowell to just one point over the final 3:41 of the game and put up 24 fourth quarter points to secure a 9-point win.  

Senior Kyla Andres and Junior Arianna Rau each scored 8 points in the quarter, while Colclasure and Miller scored 5 and 3, respectively. The Red Hawks were 7 of 8 from the free throw line in the quarter.

Miller led all scores with 16 points, followed by Colclasure with 11 points and 5 rebounds, Andres with 9 points, and Rau with 8 points and 10 rebounds.  Prins pulled down 6 rebounds.

The Red Hawks (7-4 overall, 2-2 Conference) are on the road this week in OK White action as they travel to Greenville on Tuesday (1-28) and Ottawa Hills on Friday (1-31).

The Cedar Springs Girls basketball team has had a very successful first month of the season, starting with a 5-1 record. The Red Hawks have been tenacious on the defensive end holding opponents to 25 points a game.  

Last week the ladies traveled to Big Rapids where they suffered their first loss of the season, 29-18.  Once again, the Red Hawk defense was locked in, however the offense struggled.  

After jumping out to an 11-4 first quarter lead, the offense could only muster 7 points the rest of the game. Junior Kaelyn Colclasure led the Red Hawks with 6 points and 4 rebounds. Maggie Prins totaled 5 steals on the night.

On Friday, December 20, the team was again on the road at Northpointe Christian. The team ramped up the defensive pressure and was able to get back to their winning ways by defeating NP Christian 44-9.  

Sophomore Darrah Miller led the Red Hawk attack with 12 points and 4 steals. Miller was followed by Colclasure with 7 points and 4 assists.  Junior Arianna Rau hauled in 6 rebounds. All players who dressed for the game were able to etch their name in the scoring column.

The Red Hawks are off for two weeks for the Christmas Holiday. They will be back in action on Friday, January 10, when they open OK Conference play at Forest Hills Northern. Girls varsity will start at 5:30 p.m. followed by the boys varsity at 7:00pm.

Cedar Springs Girls Basketball is off to their best start in recent memory. The team, off to a 4-0 start has outscored their opponents by an average of 19 points. Passing their first real test of the season, the team came from behind to defeat a scrappy Newaygo team 49-39.

Another strong start saw Cedar jump out to a 13-7 first quarter lead. Five different players scored during the first eight minutes of play.

Newaygo clawed all night and rallied in the 2nd period to tie the score 21-21 at halftime. The Lions jumped ahead by 8 points early in the third period before the Red Hawks got back on track. A pair of baskets by Junior Maggie Prins and a three-point bucket by classmate Avery Sparling helped spur a comeback in the third for a Cedar one point lead at the end of the quarter, 31-30.  

Junior Kaelyn Colclasure and Sparling each knocked down a three-pointer and the team hit 8 free throws in the fourth quarter to secure their fourth win in the opening two weeks of the season.

A balanced scoring attack was key to the Red Hawk victory. Prins led the scoring attack with 13 points and 9 rebounds followed by Colclasure and Sparling with 12 points each and Junior Arianna Rau hauled in a team high 13 rebounds.

The Lady Red Hawks will be back in action on Tuesday, December 17 when they travel to Big Rapids to take on the undefeated Cardinals and again on Friday, December 20 when they play at Northpointe Christian.  

The Cedar Springs Girls Basketball Team has opened the season with three impressive wins against Sparta, Grant and Muskegon Oakridge.

The Lady Red Hawks return 6 players, including 4 starters from last year’s squad that reached the District Final.  Add in five players from last year’s JV team, along with putting in a lot of effort throughout the preseason and the team is focused on competing for an OK White Championship.

On Tuesday, December 3, they opened the season with a 39-26 victory on the road against Sparta. Cedar jumped out quick and led 12-4 after the first quarter. The Red Hawks continued their pressure defense throughout the first three quarters and pushed their lead to 21 points.

Sophomore Darrah Miller led the Red Hawks with 10 points and 9 rebounds followed by Junior Arianna Rau with 9 points and 5 rebounds.

The ladies again hit the road on Friday, December 6, when they traveled to Grant. Avery Sparling scored 7 first quarter points and Maggie Prins added 4 in another fast start by the Red Hawks, who led 12-0 after one.  Balanced scoring in the 2nd period produced similar results as Cedar led 23-6 going into the break.  

The final score on the evening was 44-28 in favor of the Red Hawks. Junior Maggie Prins led the way scoring 11 points and hauling in 5 rebounds, followed by Sparling who added 10 points and 6 rebounds. Junior Kaelyn Colclasure dished out 7 assists on the evening.

In the first home game of the season on December 9, the Red Hawks cruised to victory defeating Muskegon Oakridge 57-20. After scoring on the opening tip, the Red Hawks never looked back—scoring early and often to take a 23-4 lead after the first quarter.  

All 11 girls on the roster scored on the evening and were led by Sparling with 11, Rau with 10, and Prins with 8. Colclasure was again dishing the rock with 5 assists and Junior Rosie Pigorsh hauled down a team high 7 rebounds.

The Red Hawks were back in action Wednesday evening when Newaygo came to Red Flannel town. See results of that game in next week’s paper.

The Cedar Springs Girls Basketball Team split a pair of conference games this past week losing in double overtime to Lowell 44-46 on Tuesday, January 22, and beating Greenville 34-26 on Friday, January 25. 

The Red Hawks led 24-18 at halftime against Greenville, behind 11 first half points (3- three pointers) from Brighton Miller. Lowell battled back to tie the game 34-34 at the end of regulation. Both overtimes were evenly matched with the Lady Red Hawks coming up just short.

Miller led the Red Hawks with 17 points and 5 steals on the evening.  Kaelyn Colclasure chipped in 10 points and 5 rebounds and Avery Sparling added 7 points and 8 rebounds.

On Friday, the Red Hawks put together a solid defensive effort winning 34-26. The stingy Red Hawk defense held Greenville to 2 first quarter points for a 6-2 lead after one.  

Trailing 22-26 after three periods, that stingy defense showed up again as the Red Hawks shut out the Yellow Jackets while scoring 12 points of their own for the 34-26 victory.

Sparling led the Red Hawk scoring attack with 10 points and 6 rebounds. She was followed in scoring by Miller with 8 points and 5 steals. Arianna Rau scored 6 points and pulled down a team high 9 rebounds on the evening.

Cedar Springs is 5-6 overall and 2-4 in the OK White. Their next game will be Friday on the road against Ottawa Hills. Boys games start at 5:30 p.m. followed by the girls at 7:00 p.m.

Zoe Castor

Ali Sparling

Ali Sparling – Senior, Girls Basketball

Zoe Castor – Freshman, Competitive Cheer

Lady Chargers: Front: Holly Fahling; 2nd Row: Grace Alverson, Elizabeth Jahns, Cameron Medwayosh, Hannah Hofstra, Faith Watson, Autumn Watson 3rd Row: Sierra Medwayosh, Zoe Roesner, Torie Wierda, Molly Wortz, Brin Calkins, Devin Slocum, Kaela Bucholz, Gabby Fahling Back Row: Coach Steve Washington

The Lady Chargers continued to improve on their season by competing in the West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science (WMAES) Basketball Tournament. The ladies took on the host WMAES Eagles in the first round and jumped out to an early lead and never looked back while charging to a 31-10 victory. It was CTA’s relentless pressure that enabled the team to force 36 turnovers in the game. Faith Watson led the Lady Chargers with eight points, freshman Hannah Hofstra threw in an additional six points. All of this was supported by senior point guard Holly Fahling who had five points, four rebounds and four assists.

In the Championship games, CTA faced the Grand Rapids Thunder for the the Tournament title.

The Lady Chargers played an aggressive player-to-player defense. Stifling pressure frustrated the Thunder team forcing 32 turnovers which created numerous fast break opportunities for the Lady Chargers’ 37-13. Holly Fahling stepped it up and scored 14 points with five steals and four rebounds. Faith Watson threw in an additional 11 points with Junior Autumn Watson cleaning up the boards with 8 rebounds. All players were able to get into both games and first year players Kaela Bucholtz, Elizabeth Jahns and Molly Wortz also logged points in the tournament. “It is great when when can play good team defense and get all 14 girls significant court time,” stated coach Steven Washington. “All of our players had the opportunity to contribute to a good team win.” With the wins, the Lady Chargers are 5-7 for the year and play this Friday, February 17th at Grace Bible College hosting the Wellspring Academy Wolves.

The CTA girls basketball team traveled east to take on the Grattan Grizzlies and were able to pull away in the second half defeating them 36-22.  It seemed early that no team was going to pull away as the lead changed hands multiple times in the first half with the Lady Chargers settling in with a 13-11 lead.  Things changed quickly in the second half as the Chargers half court trap defense led to some steals and layups on the other end.  “The half court trap is something that we spend a lot of time on, and it was nice to see it have some success in this game.”  “We did a nice job of anticipating in the second half and were able to get some layups from that increased anticipation,” explained an excited Coach Hill after the game.

Although this was a complete team effort there were a couple of players who really stood out.  Aubrey Slocum and Nadine Merz were dominant on the boards with 9 rebounds each, and Alicia Beck led the charge offensively with 10 points.  “We have such great senior leadership on this team and it really showed through in this game.” Coach Hill said. “It is such a privilege to work with such talented and hardworking ladies, they come to practice every day and want to improve. It has been a real treat so far.”

The Lady Chargers are off next week but are back in action on January 28^th when they head to Fremont to take on the Quad City Mustangs.  The game will be played at the Fremont Rec Center and the game tips at 6:00pm. Come cheer on the Chargers.

The Creative Technologies Academy girls’ basketball team wrapped up their season by winning the WMAES tournament for the second straight year, ending the season with a record of 11-6. The Chargers defeated Potters House in the semifinals and then took down Lakeshore Christian in the championship game, 33-25. It was the best record for the team in the program’s short three-year history and they have improved every year.

Junior Esther Hubbard led the team with 12 points and junior Grace VanEnk led the way in the post with 10. The Chargers held a lead at halftime 12-9 and a late third quarter charge was too much for Lakeshore Christian to overcome.

Coach Robin Greene credited the back-to-back championships to the hard work and dedication of her team. “Our girls worked hard to improve in the off season, responded to adversity, and came together as a team at the end,” explained Greene. “I speak for myself and my co-coach, Mae Hill, when I say that it is a pleasure leading a great group of girls and watching them mature into young women and basketball players.”

Captain and junior Grace VanEnk sums up the season with this, “Before every game, as a team, we would come together and pray that God would watch over our team and help us to do our best. This I believe was a key factor in helping us be a family and pull out the best season yet!”

The Lady Chargers will be strong in 2012-13 as they return the starting five and they do not lose anyone to graduation. CTA looks to build on this season’s successes and thanks the parents, fans and school for their support and dedication to the team.