The script Three Rivers’ girls basketball team has written so far this season is pretty compelling.
The Wildcats won consecutive Wolverine Conference championships for the first time in school history and now boast back-to-back Class B district titles after a 49-30 victory Friday over host Sturgis.
All Senior stars Teagan Reeves, a Miss Basketball finalist who produced a triple-double, and Linsey Masnari, who also filled up the stat sheet on a double-digit scoring night, want now is a soundtrack to go with it.
“I know this sounds kind of weird, but it’s kind of awkward running out and doing your warm-ups with no warm-up music,” Reeves said of the jam-free district environment at Sturgis. “We do the same thing for 20 games and then it’s just awkward silence.”
Masnari, who picks the mix for Three Rivers home games, agreed that no beats before the game had something to do with the Wildcats offbeat performance on the offensive end through the first three scoreless minutes.
Teagan Reeves (back) releases a shot as Sturgis’ Gretchen Inman turns to eye a rebound.
Perhaps they can call ahead and discuss the music situation with Edwardsburg, which is Three Rivers’ regional destination Tuesday where it takes on Benton Harbor.
“It took us a little while to get going offensively like It has the other two nights in the gym here, but once we were able to react and see what [Sturgis] was doing a little bit, the girls did a nice job the rest of the half getting the ball where we needed to,” Wildcats coach Jason Bingaman said.
Three Rivers, sparked by strong student section support, started heating up and got out to an 11-0 lead before the Trojans got on the board with a free throw. The first quarter ended with a 13-1 Three Rivers advantage that ballooned to 26-6 by halftime.
Reeves finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocks, and Masnari shot 70 percent for 17 points, six assists, nine boards and four blocks. She also converted several 3-point plays that helped the Wildcats safely advance.
“I like that little baby hook, but it doesn’t work all the time because I fade away,” Masnari said. “Bing has really been working on me to take that extra step and tonight I did that.”
A suffocating defensive effort was the product of every Three Rivers player getting after it. Alicia Schmidtendorff, who had two points and two assists, made her biggest contribution on the other end with four steals and an overall disruptive presence. Kimmy Sibert, also with two points and two assists, notched two steals as well.
Alexis Herbert recorded three points, four assists and two steals, Cory Sanders had two points and two boards, and Krishanna Carter finished with one points, an assist and a rebound.
Nikki Nelson scored eight points and grabbed seven boards for Sturgis, which shot 23.7 percent from the field and was 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) at the foul line. Rachel Anderson added seven points and four rebounds.
Linsey Masnari
“Tonight we drew up a game plan to force Three Rivers to set up their offense through someone other then Carter,” Trojans coach Amie Burger said. “Jessie Cline and Courtney Lovelace did a great job of putting pressure and denying her the ball. Offensively, we just had a tough night getting a basket to fall for us. Reeves and Masnari are two good players and make for hard matchups. I am very proud of the girls for their effort the whole night. I wish I had this team another year. They are a great group of girls that never give up and play hard for each other.”
Cline, Kayla Nichols and Goretti Alfaro-Cardiel each posted four points, Morgan Pueschel had two and Marissa Parker added one. Gretchen Inman pitched in four boards, Lovelace had two rebounds and Cline led the team with six steals.