Chelsea Overbeek shoots West Ottawa past Zeeland West
ZEELAND - The West Ottawa basketball needed an answer.
When all-state guard Gabby Reynolds was double-teamed and struggled to score, the Panthes needed an answer.
When the Zeeland West post game pulled the Dux within striking distance, they needed an answer.
Each time, the answer was Chelsea Overbeek.
The junior guard exploded for 17 points in a 46-23 win at Zeeland West on Friday.
"This was a really big win and a big confidence booster," Overbeek said. "They are a good team and it is big to know we can (play like that) against a good team. They worked hard on Gabby, and then they played a 3-1 and their top (of the zone) couldn't guard both me and Sami (O'Connor), she kind of had to pick and I happened to be open on the other side a lot," Overbeek said. "It felt great (to knock those shots down) after not shooting well in the first half - and especially in such a close game."
It was only close until Overbeek hit three 3s in the second half and the Panthers improved to 4-0 behind their guardplay.
"Chelsea was huge. We have talked about it all year that people are going to have to step up. Sami was a threat and Gabby was a good playmaker. I know she got frustrated early on, but she made some great passes and her aggression allowed other people to get some looks," West Ottawa coach Paul Chapman said.
Chelsea Overbeek made two shots in the first quarter and the Panthers led 8-5 heading into the second.
Overbeek started the second quarter with a putback, then fed Gabby Reynolds on a fast break the the Panthers pushed their lead to 12-6.
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Marissa Ybarra scored on back-to-back possessions for the Dux, who quickly pulled back within 12-10.
Overbeek scored again from Reynolds and the Panthers led 19-14 at halftime.
The Dux pulled within 21-17 but Overbeek nailed a 3 to make it 24-17 midway through the third. She hit another one and it was 29-17 after three quarters.
Overbeek started the fourth quarter with a 3 and the Panthers put the game out of reach after baskets from Magaly Lemus and a 3 from Sami O'Connor.
"(Overbeek) hit some big shots, especially in the second half. Those were back-breakers for sure," Zeeland West coach Ryan Lane said. "She stepped up and hit them when they needed them."
Reynolds finished with 11 points and Lemus had seven.
For the Dux (2-2), Kara Bartels finished with 10 and Sydney Bergsma had six. The Panthers held starters Jordyn Klaasen, Lindy Gulker and Ally Yonker scoreless.
"We played a lot of zone and tried to help against Bartels on the back side. Fortunately for us, they didn't shoot the ball very well, so we were able to focus on her," Chapman said.
Lane said, while the missed shots were tough, it was more than that.
"We lost our offensive identity in the second half. Chapman is always switching up defenses and we didn't really adapt well to that," Lane said. "We held on to the ball too long and they really took it to us defensively."
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Chelsea Overbeek shoots West Ottawa past Zeeland West
