When Fruitport girls basketball coach Brian Packard and his assistants reached the locker room after Friday’s game, they were greeted with a surprise.
The players were hiding and waiting for them, and doused them with water bottles when they entered the room.
For the coaches and the players, it was time to celebrate a little bit after a painful start to the season.
The Trojans, who lost their first eight games, including some by one-sided scores, finally broke into the victory column with an exciting 34-29 victory over Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian in a home O-K Silver conference game.
It was the first conference win since Feb. 11. 2022 for the Trojans, who struggled for the past few years in the super-tough O-K Blue conference.
[1]Packard admitted that all the losses have been hard to take, but said the girls have continued to grind and work on their game, instead of letting the failures get the best of them.
On Friday all the work paid off.
“Our kids are too strong, and our coaching staff is too strong,” Packard said. “We know we don’t have the most talent in the world, but Fruitport is a blue collar town and we’re a blue collar team. We work our butts off in practice, and even after a loss, we focus on what we were successful in and how we can build on it.
“We have struggled to shoot the ball a little bit this year, and we still did tonight, but we made a couple key shots when we needed to. And when something bad happened, the girls popped right back up.
“Tonight is all about the girls. I am very excited for them.”
[2]Sophomore Izzy Hanson-Wilbur tossed in eight points in the first quarter and the Trojans led 10-8 at the first buzzer.
NorthPointe Christian had the edge in the second quarter and led 17-15 at halftime.
The Trojans had some balanced scoring in the third quarter, with a triple by Kenzie Pate and two-point buckets from Hanson-Wilbur, Lainey Bol and McKenzie Beardsley, and led 24-21 heading in the fourth.
Hanson-Wilbur had a bucket and three free throws down the stretch, Beardsley hit a triple and Bol had two free throws to help the Trojans put the victory on ice.
NorthPointe Christian never got within more than five points in the fourth quarter.
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Hanson-Wilbur finished with 18 points, including 10 free throws. Beardsley totaled five points while Bol and Lily Johnson each had four.
“We know Izzy is the one who gets us going and keeps us ticking, but it was good to get some other girls involved in the offense tonight,” Packard said. “They shared the ball really well, and we didn’t turn it over nearly as much.
“Lily Johnson had a great game defensively, and we did really well rebounding. Izzy attacked the glass like crazy and Lainey was a monster down there. Ava Powell had a huge block for us in the first half. I told the ref that we might need a new ball – that one might be flat because she hit it so hard!”
Packard credited his assistant coaches – Steve Schultz and Mel Raleigh – for all the hard work they’ve put in and the support they have provided, particularly during the long losing streak.
“Mel told me after the last game that we needed to go back to our zone defense, which we had kind of gotten away from, and we did that tonight and only gave up 29 points,” the coach said. “Those guys are so helpful. I attribute this win to them and the girls.”
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