FRUITPORT – Every team is faced with unexpected challenges every season, and the Fruitport girls basketball squad was presented with a big one very early in its season-opening game on Monday.

Junior Izzy Hanson-Wilbur, a third-year starter and the team’s leading scorer each of the last two seasons, went down with a leg injury just over one minute into the game.

She was in obvious pain and she lay on the court, had to be helped to the locker room, and did not return. Preliminary thoughts are that she may have a high ankle sprain and be out for at least a few weeks, but much more will be known in coming days.

The good news was that the Trojans – who were 8-16 last season – showed their coaches and fans that they have matured and developed enough skill to play and win without Hanson-Wilbur. They grabbed an early lead, withstood a few Montague comebacks, and emerged with a 35-25 victory on their home court.

Numerous players stepped up and did important things for the Trojans in Hanson-Wilbur’s absence. That group included three players who combined to score 23 of the Trojans’ 35 points – Kya Tawney (9), Ava Powell (8) and Cierra Fri (6).

“We’re a little bit more resilient already,” said Fruitport head coach Brian Packard. “To respond to something like that, you can either quit or figure it out, and I think the girls figured it out. Thirty-five points is not a lot of points, but it was enough tonight.

“We know we have some speed and we used it. We were able to use a couple of JV players at the right moments under the fifth-quarter rule – they came in and got a few steals, which was huge. Kendall Lee stepped up and played a great game off the bench, Kya kind of owned the paint offensively, and Ava was great defensively.

“When you have a team with composure, it can go a long way.”

Packard was uncertain about Hanson-Wilbur’s condition immediately after the game.

“She landed on somebody when she came down,” he said. “Those are normally sprains, not breaks. I don’t think she’s ever had an ankle injury before, and it might have been one of those things where the initial reaction was way worse than the injury. But until we have a better idea, I guess I just don’t know.”

The game was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, with both teams committing a lot of turnovers and missing many easy shots, some of which can be attributed to opening-night jitters.

But the Trojans did a better job of composing themselves on offense and making plays and hitting shots when it was necessary.

Tawney hit a pair of buckets and Lily Johnson added a three-pointer, allowing Fruitport to end the first quarter with a 10-7 lead.

The Trojans led off the second quarter with a quick 6-0 run with layups from Powell, Tawney and Fri and led 16-7. Montague cut the lead to 17-14 with 57 seconds left in the half, then Tawney hit a triple and Powell made a free throw, giving Fruitport a 21-14 halftime lead.

Montague had a 5-0 run early in the third quarter and narrowed the score to 23-19, then Fruitport freshman Regan Wilson made a three-point to increase the lead to 26-19. The Trojans were outscored 9-8 in the quarter and headed to the fourth with a 29-22 edge.

The Wildcats’ Gentry Knop hit a three-pointer in the first minute of the final quarter, making in a 29-25 game. But Fruitport was up to the challenge again, scoring the last six points to nail down the victory. The victory-sealing buckets came from Tawney, Lee and Fri.

“We won,” Packard said, when asked about his overall assessment of the game. “We have to stop passing it to the other team. But we probably had 15-ish turnovers, and if we stay in that range all season, we should be in some games. Last year against Montague I think we had 29.”

Powell and Tawney led the Trojans in rebounding with six and five boards, respectively. Johnson and Powell each had two assists.