Harper Creek holds off late BCC rally for first win of the season
Kayla Whitmyer was looking for her first win after taking over a new program.
And Harper Creek was looking for its first win of the season.
The Beavers were able to accomplish both on Friday.
Harper Creek held on in the final minute to edge Battle Creek Central, 39-34, in this non-conference girls basketball game at Battle Creek Central High School.
It was the first win for the Beavers, who lost to St. Joseph in their opener on Tuesday. And, it was the first victory for Whitmyer, who takes over the Harper Creek program this year after being a longtime coach at Bellevue and spending one season with Kellogg Community College.
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After a furious rally by the Bearcats tied the score at 34, Whitmyer diagramed an out-of-bounds play during a timeout. The Beavers executed their coach's instructions perfectly, as senior Maddie Berning came off a screen and found herself wide open for a skip pass to score a layup for the go-ahead basket with 1:00 remaining.
"Yeah. that's nice, that's the first win. It feels good to get the first win of the season," Whitmyer said. "Feels good to execute late in this game. Very proud of how we executed, because on Tuesday in our first game, we had a problem with that."
Harper Creek had control for most of the contest as BCC struggled early. The Beavers led 9-2 after a first quarter when the Bearcats were held to 1-for-13 shooting.
Harper Creek continued its advantage into halftime, up 19-12. The Beavers then looked to put the game away in the second half as senior Payton Rice scored five straight points to put Harper Creek up 28-15 with 4:40 left in the third — the Beavers' largest lead.
However, Battle Creek Central rallied and cut the lead to 30-26 on a 3-pointer by freshman Za'Kariona Caldwell at the third quarter buzzer.
"It was a fun game, highly competitive, going back and forth, especially late," Whitmyer said. "Seeing how our ladies responded to those challenges of seeing Central hit some big shots and come back on us was good to see."
BCC tied the game for the first time since the opening tip at 34-34 with 2:23 remaining on a steal and a fast-break layup by sophomore A'Mya Hodges. However, Harper Creek held the Bearcats scoreless the rest of the way.
"I knew we would fight back," BCC coach Tony Warren said. "We wanted to play prevent defense in the first half. Can't win a game in the first quarter, and we were looking to protect my guards from foul trouble in the first quarter and we did that. Then, I thought we would come out and use our quickness in the second half and get some turnovers and get some easy buckets and that worked.
"We are very young, basically starting three freshmen, but we gave ourselves a chance to win late. It was there for us. One or two plays was the difference."
Rice had 15 points, five rebounds and three steals to lead Harper Creek (1-1) as Ella Chantrenne added 12 points, including three 3-pointers. Marissa Smith played big inside with nine points and eight rebounds, with two blocks, as Berning had four assists and four steals from her point guard spot.
BCC falls to 0-2 with freshman Myliyah Mosley getting 11 points, Caldwell scoring nine and Hodges adding eight.
More Girls Basketball
Pennfield 42, Mason 40
Pennfield's Kaylee Glidden hit the game-winning basket at the buzzer to give the Panthers this non-conference win. Glidden finished with 23 points, including four 3-pointers, to go along with six rebounds and six assists. Natalie Hensel added 17 points and six rebounds as Pennfield improves to 2-0.
Coldwater 35, Gull Lake 15
Coldwater jumped out to a 21-5 lead at halftime and improved to 2-0 with the non-conference win over Gull Lake (0-2). Elli Anderson had seven points, three rebounds and three steals to lead Coldwater, with Mya Porter getting six points and Elli Foley chipping in five points, four steals, four assists and three rebounds.
Marshall 44, Eaton Rapids 32
Marshall improved to 1-1 with Addison Waito and Lauren Newman each scoring 10 points in the win as Natalie Frever chipped in with nine.
Athens 59, North Adams-Jerome 9
Senior Kylie Quist led Athens with 28 points, four steals and three assists in the season opener for the Indians. Kami Parlin added 14 points and five rebounds.
Colon 38, Jackson Christian 29
Colon (1-0) trailed 20-14 at halftime, but the Magi defense held Jackson Christian to nine points in the second half. Reese Williams led Colon with 22 points, four assists and three steals and Macey Burgess added eight points, 11 rebounds and three steals.
Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Harper Creek holds off late BCC rally for first win of the season
