Atherton downs Bentley in cross-town rivalry

Atherton’s Sara Gammons dribbles up court. Photo by Brandon Pope BURTON — Atherton hosted crosstown rival Burton Bentley on Tuesday in a Genesee Area Conference-Blue game and came away with a 51-39 victory.

The Bulldogs led early, 11-9, after one quarter and the second quarter saw each team score six points. Atherton turned up the offense in the second half with 17 points in the third and 19 in the fourth compared to nine in the third and 13 in the fourth for Bentley.

Brittany Kuzmich led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds while Sara Gammons had 10 points and 10 assists, Kayla Shepard added 10 points and 13 rebounds and Kylie Wilson came through with 10 points, four assists and three steals.

The Lady Wolverines hosted Flint Hamady last Thursday and lost, 74- 37. The Hawks jumped out to leads of 18-7 after the first quarter and 48-15 at the half.

The second half was no better for Atherton as it was outscored, 13-10, in the third and 13-12 in the fourth.

Gammons led Atherton with 20 points, three assists, two steals and two rebounds, Wilson had 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals and Shepard added two points, 12 rebounds and three steals.

The Hawks were led by Day’na Holmes and Nandi Taylor with 20 points apiece.

“In a game such as this, I always seem to find out that there is no quit in this young team,” said Atherton coach Darcell Price. “I was not happy with all the turnovers, but I was happy about how the girls did not quit and how the team is starting to understand where they all fit in.”

The Lady Wolverines, 6-10 overall, 6-7 GAC, host Byron today and travel to Dryden on Feb. 14. — E.H. BENDLE

New Lothrop proved to be a rather inhospitable guest last Friday in Genesee Area Conference-Blue competition, beating the Lady Tigers, 58-33, to raise its season record to 13-1 overall. The last time these two teams met Bendle lost at New Lothrop, 53-31, on Jan. 12.

The Lady Tigers, 8-7 overall, 7-6 GAC-Blue, are currenty ranked 286th in the state and 6,870th nationally according to maxpreps.com and are at Webberville today before hosting Byron on Tuesday and crosstown rival Atherton on Thursday. — M.S. BENTLEY

The Lady Bulldogs had a setback on Tuesday at home in Genesee Area Conference-Blue action. Hosting their cross-town rivals, Bentley fell to the Atherton Wolverines, 51-39.

The Bulldogs held an 11-9 edge at the conclusion of the opening frame. A deadlocked second quarter would give Bentley a 17-15 advantage at the break. The Lady Wolverines shifted the momentum with a 17-9 third quarter, followed by a fourth quarter which also went Atherton’s way, 19-13.

Miranda Boulton poured in a teamhigh 13 points to go along with her 10 rebounds and one block. Jada Harris chipped in with nine points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and one steal. Heather McDaniel recorded an eightpoint night, as well as six rebounds, two assists and one steal. Danielle Lidstrand had four points, one rebound and one assist, while Courtney Cuddie scored three points and snatched down two rebounds. Kaylee Green put up two points and a rebound.

The Lady Bulldogs played one of their closer games of the season on Thursday at Dryden. Bentley improved to 5-10 overall by defeating their Genesee Area Conference-Blue foes, 44-41. Just as in the boys’ game, both teams were very evenly matched.

Dryden took a slim lead with them into the half, 22-20. Bentley got the edge in the third quarter, 12-9, before holding on in the final frame, outscoring the Cardinals, 12-10.

Leading the way for the Lady Bulldogs was Lidstrand, who poured in a team-high 11 points. Harris recorded eight points, five blocks and 12 rebounds, while Boulton posted seven points and five steals. Green, Cuddy and McDaniel scored six points apiece.

The Lady Bulldogs will host Genesee on Thursday, which will be played in all pink jerseys for breast cancer awareness. — B.P. FAITH

The Lady Lions kept alive their title hopes in the Inner State Athletic Conference with a 49-20 win over New Haven Merritt Academy last Friday. Angelina Drago had 34 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as Faith improved to 9-2 overall and 6-2 in the ISAC, two games behind St. Thomas More with four to play.

The Lions jumped out to an 18-5 lead in the first quarter and extended it to 29-9 at halftime. They led, 37-12, after three quarters. Sarah Sienkiewicz added five points for Faith.

The Lions beat Kimball New Life Christian Academy, 50-21, on Jan. 31, avenging a 38-33 loss to the Lady Knights 11 days earlier. Drago had 28 points and 18 rebounds, and Sienkiewicz 12 points. Drago, a 6-foot- 3 senior, is averaging 22.8 points, 15.5 rebounds and five blocks for the season.

Faith will visit Michigan School for the Deaf tonight and Genesee Christian on Friday. — D.N. GENESEE CHRISTIAN

The Lady Soldiers had a rough night at Lake Fenton on Monday, losing, 67- 23. Genesee Christian was within 11-9 after one quarter, but Lake Fenton pulled away with a 21-6 second quarter and put it away with a 22-3 third period. Jessica Cherry led the Soldiers with nine points and Patty Badour scored eight.

Genesee Christian, 5-9, will host Faith High at 5:30 p.m. Friday. — D.N.