A historic win for the Saugatuck girls as they defeat Zeeland West, a Division 1 school, in an absolutely thrilling game.
ZEELAND - The Saugatuck girls basketball team proved strong defense works at any level.
Playing Division 1 Zeeland West in a battle of the last two unbeaten teams in the Holland area, the Trailblazers, ranked No. 7 in Division 3, made the most of their rare opportunity to face such a big school - and another good team, surviving the Dux 43-40 on Tuesday, Jan. 13, on the road.
"What a phenomenal test. We are so grateful for them to give us a chance to come over here. We needed a game like this. We have faced teams like this in regionals the last few years and it was clear we needed tougher tests during the season," Saugatuck coach Kevin Tringali said. "It wasn't even about winning or losing, but to come in here and keep our composure - I am beyond proud of our kids."
The defense started from the opening tip as Saugatuck senior guard Talia Laskowski poked a steal away and scored on a layup.
It started the full-court all-out defensive blitz for both teams.
The lead swung back and forth for much of the game.
Laskowski took over in crunch time, hitting a step back 3-pointer, then turning a steal into a layup and converting a three-point play, putting Saugatuck up 10 with 3:12 to go.
Laskowski led all scorers with 23 points and Mylah Simpson added 12 for the Trailblazers (8-0). Chris Gustafson added six.
"This is so huge. We are the Division 3 school and game into this one. It is good show we are a team (that can win games like this)," Laskowski said. "Their defense was tough to navigate, and we had to adjust to that and share the ball."
Down 10 late in the fourth, Zeeland West rallied all the way within three and had a chance after forcing a few turnovers and converting them into basket.
Sadie Kragt scored with 0.1 seconds remaining and was fouled. It made it 43-40 and she had to miss on purpose and hope a teammate scored on a rebound tip in and was fouled.
"We came in prepared with Sadie. We thought if we could try to cut the head off the snake, we had a chance," Tringali said.
Neither happened and the Dux ended up just short.
Kragt and Bri Kamer each scored 13 points for the Dux (7-1). Brooklyn Haight and Alyssa Lucas each had five.
"This was an important test for us. That is a really talented team and they could do a lot of damage in the OK Black, for sure," Zeeland West coach Ryan Lane said. "It was good to test ourselves. We continued to come back and it just ended up a couple of things here and there. We were not expecting a box-and-1 zone against Sadie, and that shows a lot of respect to Sadie. We just didn't shoot well tonight and they used their quickness to get some buckets. Mylah and Talia did a lot of work out there."
Historic win for Saugatuck
Saugatuck has been one of the top girls basketball programs in West Michigan for decades.
The Trailblazers had a 20-0 season in 2004, then have produced a couple of NCAA Division I players, and have another current player (Simpson) with offers. Saugatuck has had another dozen players compete at smaller colleges.
Saugatuck won the past two district titles and reached the regional finals, last year losing to top-ranked Pewamo-Westphalia.
"Girls basketball for Saugatuck has made a major impact on basketball all around. And it kind of stinks that (most of the area) doesn't come to our games (because the bigger schools play each other), but by making the impact we have been every year, we are going to be way more known than we are," Saugatuck senior Penny Grob said.
But Saugatuck had not faced a Division 1 team, let alone a Division 1 unbeaten team like this in decades if ever.
It was also an opportunity for some of the Holland area to actually see what their program is capable of, and has been for years.
"It means a lot," Simpson said. "People in the area know we can do well in our conference, but seeing how well we played against a bigger division, shows we can hang with bigger teams and people might not have expected that. It means a lot to beat team and handle that pressure."
Battle of similar teams
Both teams are built pretty similarly. Both have fast, strong guards who excel at pressure defense and get to the basket.
Both teams have their ups and downs outside shooting, but when they are on, are tough to stop.
And both teams have new starting post players, who are doing better than expected in the young season.
Kamer was strong in the post early, scoring three times in the early minutes as the Dux led 8-2 before the Trailblazers rallied to tie.
"The key was just to stay up, and that is why we won, because we wanted it so much," Grob said. "Matching up with a team like that, we didn't actually know what to do at certain times because they were so similar to us. It was difficult, but as long as we knew in our heads and our hearts what we could do it. It was a (switch) click in our heads that we can do so much more than we think we can."
Looking ahead
For both teams, this will be a test that will pay dividends during the postseason.
The win will give confidence to Saugatuck, but with big goals ahead, the Trailblazers will look to not get too high after the historic win.
"Hopefully, it doesn't give us too much confidence," Laskowski said. "But winning this game, we know we can beat any other team we face."
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’[email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Saugatuck girls basketball team defeats Zeeland West for historic win
Category: General Sports
