South Christian Basketball

South Christian senior point guard Sophia Prins (12) led the Sailors with 18 points against West Catholic. (WKTV/Greg Chrapek)

By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org

In a showdown between two of the premier Division 2 girls basketball teams in the state, as well as OK Gold rivals, South Christian held off a furious Grand Rapids West Catholic second-half rally to grab a 73-62 win in what very well may be the first of three potential meetings between the local basketball powerhouses.

Last season, the two powers split a pair of conference games as they shared the conference title. The two teams met again in the postseason when West Catholic edged the Sailors 39-37 in the Division 2 state quarterfinals. This season, South Christian won Round One of what may be another memorable trilogy and kept its record spotless at 7-0.

The game was a close struggle in the early going before the Sailors built a 20-point lead midway through the third quarter. Any thoughts of an early surrender by the Falcons were washed away as West Catholic rallied and eventually cut the deficit to three points late in the fourth quarter before the Sailors regained command in the final minutes of the contest.

“They (West Catholic) are a good team,” said South Christian Coach Erika Brown. “They are a very, very good team. They are very well coached. They are disciplined and we knew it was going to be a game of runs. We got after it and got that 20-point lead, but at the same time we knew it wasn’t over.”

The game was close from the opening tip with the Sailors clinging to a 16-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. West Catholic was up 22-20 midway through the second quarter before the Sailors went on a 15-4 run to end the first half. Freshman Kinley Regnery was at the middle of the Sailor run as she drained three consecutive three-point shots during the South scoring spree. Regnery finished with 11 points during the second quarter.

In the second half the Sailors picked up where they left off. Up 35-26 heading into the second half, the Sailors outscored West 13-8 to go up 48-36. The Sailors then reeled off eight straight points to take a 56-36 lead in the latter stages of the third quarter. Sophomore Abby Prins was a big part of the Sailor offensive success during the third quarter with 10 points.

South Christian sophomore Abby Prins (15) totaled 14 points against West Catholic. (WKTV/Greg Chrapek)

A combination of strong defensive and offensive execution enabled the Sailors to take the large lead.

“Our press was working pretty well,” Brown said. “I think we got them (West) out of rhythm a little bit on the offensive end.”

The 20-point lead, however, was anything but safe against a West Catholic team that came into the game with a five-game winning streak and 6-1 overall record. West also came in with the added confidence of beating Tecumseh, the team that it lost to in last year’s Division 2 state championship game, 54-52 in a tournament three days earlier.

Led by their junior standout Alexis Asekomeh, the Falcons responded with an 8-0 run of their own as they trimmed the South Christian lead to 58-46 by the end of the third quarter.

West Catholic continued to build on that momentum in the final quarter. The Falcons began the fourth quarter by outscoring South 11-2 to cut the margin to 60-57 with 4:36 remaining in the game.

South Christian defenders Meredith Helmus (11) and Isla Ogle (21) close in on West Catholic’s Kenley Slanger (11). (WKTV/Greg Chrapek)

The Sailors, however, boosted by their home crowd, battled back with an 8-0 run of their own to regain a double-digit lead and bring home the win that improved their record to 7-0 for the season.

“We just had to regroup,” Brown said. “We had to take a time out and get back to us. We had to focus on some things that we were really missing out on the floor. We had to settle each other down and believe that it would be ok.”

Balanced scoring was a key for the Sailors. Senior Sophia Prins led the way with 18 points, followed by Regnery, 17; Abby Prins, 14; junior Meredith Helmus, 10, and senior Lizzie Wolthuis with nine.

Asekomeh led the way for West Catholic with 24 points, while sophomore Kenley Slanger added 17.

South Christian returns to action Friday evening hosting Northview and then travels to Wayland next Tuesday. The rematch with West Catholic will take place Feb. 3 at West Catholic.

“The season has been going good,” Brown said. “We have a good group of girls. We have good leaders, good senior leadership. The core of the team is back from last year so we are building off a good end to last year, but the basketball season is long and there’s lots of stuff still to work on.”

(Image Courtesy of South Christian)

By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org

One would think that a high school basketball team that graduated eight seniors from a group of players that went 20-5 would be in for a rebuilding spell. That kind of thinking may be the norm for many squads, but not at South Christian where the Sailors don’t rebuild, but more aptly, restock.

Despite a young roster that is shy on varsity experience, the Sailors got off to a strong start this season. South Christian won its first three games highlighted by a season-opening 75-71 win at long-time rival Grand Rapids Christian, but did have a recent 65-48 loss to Unity Christian.

Jumped out to a 3-0 start

“We are off to a great start to the year while playing a really hard schedule,” said South Christian Coach Taylor Johnson. “We played at Grand Rapids Christian in a game where we shot the ball really well. We played Holland Christian and we won that game with a three by Josh Fles at the buzzer and then we beat Kelloggsville. Anytime you start out 3-0 you have to feel pretty good.”

Coming into the season, the Sailors knew they had some promising young players but the lack of varsity experience and playing without eight seniors, including standout Carson Vis, who is at Western Michigan University, meant that things would definitely be different.

South Christian basketball and football standout Carson Vis has moved on to a basketball scholarship at Western Michigan University. (WKTV, Greg Chrapek)

“This season is so different from last year,” Johnson said. “Last year we had eight seniors and this year we are super young.”

Leading the way for this year’s team is a core of players who were on the team last season. Junior Austin Burgess is a point guard who brings good passing skills to the floor and also has the ability to hit the outside shot.

South Christian Quarterback Austin Burgess is part of a group of core players on the hardcourt. (Greg Chrapek/WKTV Contributor)

In the post, 6-foot-6 senior JJ Modderman is off to a strong start averaging 18 points per game. Modderman kicked off the season with 23 points in the win against Grand Rapids Christian, including five 3’s. Senior wing Caleb Krosschell (6-2) is a versatile wing who is providing a steady source of offense.

Seniors Owen Burgess and Josh Fles also are stepping up this season. Owen Burgess provides more depth in the backcourt, while Fles is a 6-3 forward who can hit the three-point shot and had a big fourth quarter against Holland Christian.

Talented young players making an impact

Mixing in with the returnees are some talented younger players. Max Zichterman (6-3) is off to a really good start to the season as he brings plenty of all-around talent to the floor. Zichterman turned in a big game against Grand Rapids Christian scoring 19 points with three treys.

The Sailors also have a pair of talented freshmen that are making an impact. Dax Blackport is a 6-3, 200-pounder who provides strong rebounding and points in the paint. Crew Zichterman (6-1), the younger brother of Max, is a talented guard who brings an excellent outside shot and a strong overall offensive game to the floor.

“This group is really young, but they also have fun,” Johnson said. “They are young and inexperienced, but they also have a lot of confidence. We also shoot the ball really well. We have some length. The guys have a lot of talent and they also want to work to get better.”

The Sailors will put that talent to the test in the OK Gold against teams like Grand Rapids Northview, Grand Rapids West Catholic, Wyoming and Wayland.

“The OK Gold is going to be really tough,” Johnson said. “Northview is the top team and they have a ton of talent. West Catholic is going to be good and Wyoming is always good. It’s a league where everyone knows everyone well and it’s up to the players to decide it.”