Cornerstone scored 59 first half points on Saturday afternoon as the Golden Eagles defeated Lourdes University 91-70 inside of Mol Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“We started the game locked in and focused on forcing them out of their press,” Lourdes coach Tandy Bradford said. “We knew they love to shoot on their home floor and we let adversity get the best of us in the first half.
“We showed who we were in the second, however the hole we dug was just too deep against a team that competes well together and can get three-point shots. Cornerstone did their job tonight and we didn’t for four quarters.”
The Gray Wolves started quick, jumping out to a 9-2 lead just over three minutes into the game following a Macie Stringfellow (Perrysburg) three-point play.
Cornerstone responded with a 25-7 run to pull in front for good, taking a 29-18 lead in the closing seconds of the opening period.
The Golden Eagle lead grew to 18, 43-25, midway through the second stanza and continued to grow throughout the quarter as the hosts built a 59-35 lead at the break.
Lourdes closed to within 13, 62-49, midway through the third before the Golden Eagles pushed the lead back to 20, 77-57, heading into the final 10 minutes. The Gray Wolves were unable to cut into the lead in the fourth.
Halle Barnett (Sylvania Southview) led Lourdes with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting while Emma Pedroza (Napoleon) added 14 more. Stringfellow chipped in 13 points while pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.
BG girls cagers split two
Bowling Green High School girls basketball opened the season Friday by defeating visiting Tiffin Columbian, 39-38, but the Bobcats fell to visiting Fostoria, 43-36, Saturday.
Against Columbian, the Bobcats trailed 22-18 at halftime, but outscored the Tornadoes 12-4 in the third quarter to pull away, and then held on for the one-point win.
For BG, Jamie Sayen scored 11, Shayle Greiner scored 10 and Lola Thompson scored eight points.
For Columbian, Dallas Poll scored 14, Norah Smith scored 12 and Mackenzie Davis scored eight points.
In the loss to Fostoria, the Bobcats trailed by just one, 18-17, at the half, and by just three, 26-23, entering the final stanza, but were outscored 17-13 in the fourth by the Redmen.
Greiner scored 13 and Sayen added six points to lead the Bobcats, while Garyana Overton and Alycia Middlebrooks scored 12 apiece and Lyrique Johnson added eight points for Fostoria.
Evergreen 61, Lake 54
METAMORA — Lake girls basketball fell behind 22-6 after one quarter, and then outscored Evergreen the rest of the way, but the Vikings prevailed, 61-54, in both team’s season opener Friday.
Lake had three players in double figures — Sydney Stanley scored 18, including two three-point goals, Elise Staczek scored 15 and Mary Enright had 12 points.
Jessie Materni scored seven and Elena Longoria added two points for the Flyers. Lake had 27 turnovers and was 8-for-14 from the free throw line.
For Evergreen, which was 10-for-24 from the charity stripe, Addison Ricker scored 19.
