FRUITPORT – The streak is over.

After losing its final 16 games last season, the Fruitport girls basketball team defeated Calvary Christian 77-16 in its season opener on the road on Tuesday night.

“I think we’ve got some girls that are looking forward to playing some meaningful games,” said a happy Fruitport coach Brian Packard after the game.

Fruitport established a nice lead with a 16-4 first quarter, but it was the second quarter when the Trojans really took command.

Calvary opened the quarter by receiving a technical foul for having six players on the floor, then the Trojans went on a 22-2 run.

At one point, Fruitport had 11 straight steals that resulted in points on the other end.

It’s that kind of defensive play that has Packard excited.

“Our defense is our staple, and we’ve been working to make that our staple the last two years that I’ve been here,” the coach said. “Our girls have finally started to buy into it. It’s a little bit of a different defense. It isn’t necessarily run everywhere in America, but if you can run it well and buy into what the coach is saying, then maybe we’ve got a chance to stay in some games.”

The Eagles’ only basket of the quarter came on a halftime buzzer-beater from Kara Baas, who sank a short-range jumper in front of the net.

Fruitport took care of business in the second half, outscoring Calvary 19-4 in the third and 20-6 in the fourth. There was a running clock in the second half.

“I’m super impressed,” Packard said. “Every girl that got in the game had a chance to score. My starting point guard (Jorja Blackmer) had eight to 10 assists, which was huge for us. We really worked on that this summer. She put the time in and has done a really good job. She was really seeking out all the girls to get them involved.

“Top to bottom, the excitement was there and I’m super excited about what the future holds for us.”

Blackmer transitioned from small forward to point guard this season, and so far, that move is paying dividends.

“Most of the time, I’m not really looking for myself to score because there’s always somebody else who’s going to be in a better spot,” Blackmer said. “If I see somebody open, I’m probably passing them the ball because I just want them to get the opportunity.”

One of those players getting the ball is Izzy Hanson-Wilbur, who is excelling as a freshman. She said her transition to varsity has been difficult but rewarding.

“It’s been hard, but my team has been lifting me up, making me feel good about myself, so I think I’m doing pretty good with it,” Hanson-Wilbur said.

Fruitport’s Grace Sweet led the Trojans with 13 points and Ash Olson had 12 points.

Fruitport has two more road games next week – at Orchard View on Tuesday and at Holland on Friday.

“We’ve got to build on what we did here,” Packard said. “Competition will be quite a bit tougher and we’ve got to be able to do what we did tonight against better teams. It was nice to start with this. It’s nice to get all those girls through the hoop. There were multiple games combined last year where we didn’t score in the 60s, so it’s nice to see the ball go in the bucket for us.”