By Zach Fanko

WKTV Contributor

After dropping its opener last week to Forest Hills Northern, the South Christian girls basketball team had the tall task of facing a tough Grand Rapids Christian squad on Tuesday night.

The Sailors hung around with the Eagles for four quarters, but ultimately a few defensive breakdowns and some untimely turnovers led to a 48-39 loss. Despite the loss, South Christian coach Kim Legge was pleased with the performance from her young team.

“We are making the progress that we have to make,” Legge said. “We are a young team that has freshmen and sophomores playing big minutes so we are still learning how to gel as a unit.”

One of those freshman was Lizzie Wolthuis who came off the bench to score a team-high 11 points for the Sailors. Lily Nitz and Ashley Raredon each accounted for five rebounds.

South Christian (0-2) trailed by just six at the break and fought to get within four points in the third quarter, but Katlyn LaRue’s game-high 15 points for Grand Rapids Christian (4-0) proved to be the difference.

The Sailors travel to Holland Christian on Thursday, while the Eagles have some time off before a Dec. 15 matchup with Bryon Center.