Springport defensive pressure too much for Union City in girls Big 8 hoops battle
UNION CITY, MI. — A stifling Springport defense gave the young Union City Lady Chargers fits Thursday night as the Spartans raced past the host Chargers for the 75-17 Big 8 conference girls basketball win.
The Chargers struggled from the start with a tough and aggressive Springport full court press, a pressure that caused a number of Union City turnovers which in turn led to some easy points in transition for the Spartans.
Throughout the first quarter Springport used those fast break points and efficient passes on back door cuts in the half court to outscore Union City 20-0 over the first seven minutes of the game.
Union City was finally able to get on the scoreboard with just a little over a minute left in the first quarter thanks to a beautiful pass from senior Mackenzie Hale to junior Addy Rumsey, getting the Chargers on the board at 20-2.
Rumsey ended the quarter with an aggressive drive to the dish and a tough lay-up just before the end of the quarter, giving Springport the 24-4 lead after one quarter of play.
After being stunned throughout the first quarter the Chargers appeared to get their feet underneath them in the second, as Union City began to handle the Springport defensive pressure with a little more poise, leading to a few scoring chances for the Chargers.
Union City kicked off the second quarter with a sweet jumper from junior Jordan Chard, closing the score to 24-6 with a minute gone.
The Spartans rattled off a 6-0 run over the next several minutes however the Lady Chargers refused to show any quit, despite the score discrepancy. The 6-0 Springport run was snapped by a Nevada Gillons free throw, followed up quickly by another Chard jumper at 3:20, closing the score to 30-9.
The teams traded two points, with Springport’s coming on the break while Union City’s came thanks to a pair of free throws from Gracie Phelps, finding the score at 32-11 with 2:40 left in the half.
Another 6-0 run by Springport pushed their lead to 38-11 with just under a minute to go in the half, a run that was stopped by another big bucket from Chard as this time she dialed up long distance for three, closing the score to 38-14 which is where the game would be heading into the half.
The second half belonged to Springport as the Spartans again ramped up the defensive pressure, a pressure the Chargers again struggled with. Numerous turnovers again led to easy points in transition for the Spartans as they continued to pull away.
Union City only managed three points throughout the second half thanks to a free throw from Rumsey and a bucket from Chard on a beautiful pass from Aaelya Asher, as Springport went on to outscore Union City 21-3 in the third quarter and 16-0 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the big 75-17 win.
Springport had two players hit the 20 point plateau, led by Maddux Overweg with 26 points and Breanna Crittenden with 22 points.
Union City saw four players find a spot in the scorebook, led by Jordan Chard with nine points. Also scoring for Union City was Addi Rumsey with five points, Gracie Phelps with two points, and Nevada Gillons with one point.
With the win Springport improves to 12-2 overall on the season and 7-1 in the Big 8 conference. The Spartans will next see action Tuesday when they host the Reading Rangers.
Union City meanwhile falls to 2-12 overall on the season and 0-8 in the Big 8 conference with the loss. The Chargers will look to bounce back next Tuesday when they travel to Quincy to face off with the Orioles.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Springport defensive pressure too much for Union City
