MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP – The Mona Shores girls basketball team was tested in its first game of district play on Wednesday night and passed with flying colors.

The Sailors, who are looking to capture a second consecutive district title, opened the tournament against a Grand Haven squad that plays in the tough O-K Red conference and isn’t afraid of anybody.

Mona Shores let an early lead slip away, but came out of the halftime locker room on fire, going on a 16-5 third quarter run en route to a 46-39 Division 1 district semifinal win at Reeths-Puffer High School.

The Sailors, now 18-3 on the season, will have a showdown with crosstown rival Reeths-Puffer on Friday night for the district championship. The two teams split a pair of regular-season games and shared the O-K Green conference title.

Mona Shores’ Jenna Tierman tries to set up a play while being guarded by Grand Haven’s Grace Harrison. 

“We just needed to make some shots,” said Mona Shores coach Mike Phillips about his team’s wake-up performance during the third quarter on Wednesday. “We thrive by putting points on the board and not by playing a low possession game.

“If we were going to lose, we were going to do it swinging.”

The last time Mona Shores and Grand Haven played each other was back in December, when the Sailors snuck past the Bucs by a 38-37 margin.

It didn’t look like there was going to be a re-run of that nail-biter in the earlier going, when Mona Shores jumped out to a 10-2 lead with 2:25 left in the first quarter.

But the Bucs closed out the opening quarter with an 8-2 run to cut their deficit to 12-10 heading into the second.

Grand Haven’s Zoe Spoelman gets off a shot while surrounded by Sailor defenders. 

Grand Haven kept the momentum during the second quarter by going on a 9-4 run to take a 19-16 lead at halftime.

Suddenly the pressure was on the Sailors to prove they could bounce back after squandering an early advantage.

They responded during the third quarter, scoring 11 of the first 13 points to take a 27-21 lead with 4:50 left. Mona Shores then scored five of the last eight points of the quarter to complete a 16-5 run.

Mona Shores led 32-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bucs did not give up easily, cutting their deficit to 38-34 with 2:46 remaining, and it looked like another tight finish was brewing.

Mona Shores’ Khaleeya Cook drives up the court while being closely defended by Grand Haven’s Caydee Constant. 

But the Sailors did not let Grand Haven get any closer, scoring eight of the last 13 points to seal the victory.

Jenna Tierman paced the Sailors with a game-high 15 points while Mia Brown scored 10 and Khaleeya Cook added eight.

“I felt that we had good looks, but we missed too many free throws,” said Grand Haven coach Katie Kowalczyk-Fulmer. “I am proud of my kids, though. I believe they gave all they had on the court and we were right there in the end.”

Alyssa Hatzel and Zoe Spoelman led Grand Haven with six points apiece, while Caydee Constant and Abbey Klumpel each added five.

The Bucs closed out the season with a 10-11 record.