Posted by Dylan Savela, Manistee News Advocate
December 14, 2012

BEAR LAKE — An Onekama-Bear Lake basketball game has the atmosphere of a classic rivalry: clashing colors on the court and in the crowd, with noise that never ceases.

The stands Friday night could be cut in half between opposing student sections, and as it turned out, so could the game.

Onekama (4-0, 3-0 WMD) conceded the first half to the Lakers, before bouncing back in the second for a 50-41 West Michigan D League win.

“The first half I told the girls we were playing OK,” said Portagers coach Nathan Bradford. “We were playing good defense, but they were hitting some shots and we weren’t finishing baskets.

“I told the girls to keep going at it, and keep that intensity up, because we’re going to get baskets,” he added. “They’ve got to go in eventually.”

And they did.

After trailing 17-7 in the first quarter, and 25-19 at the half, Onekama surged in the third and held on in the fourth to keep an undefeated start to the season alive.

Hailey Kott led the Portagers with 16 points, five rebounds, and six steals while Caitlin Zielinski scored 13 with six rebounds, Alexis Tribfelner had nine points and six boards, and Kayla Kosiboski scored six with five boards and three blocks.

For the Lakers (3-2, 1-1 WMD), Emileigh Ferguson led the way with 16 points and 17 boards, while Kelly Babcock had nine points and four rebounds, and McKaya Groenwald scored seven with eight rebounds and six steals.

But Bear Lake was bit by turnovers with 33 overall, and a large portion occurring during Onekama’s second half rally.

“We came out strong, but then got out of it,” said Lakers coach Scott Brown. “We were trying to force things too much, and we’ve got to settle down.

“The other thing that was happening, even though we got a lot of rebounds tonight, was we were allowing Onekama to get two, three chances a trip.

“We’ve got to have everybody getting in there and going after boards.”

In the first quarter, the Lakers looked poised to put up points in bunches Friday night with a 10-1 run to close the frame. But another outburst never came.

For Onekama, open looks and easy buckets just weren’t falling at first.

“Every time we got a chance, we’d either miss a layup or make a weak pass,” Bradford said, “but I told the girls to keep playing.

“Early on we had a few too many turnovers too, but then in the second half we started capitalizing on some better passes.”

The Portagers closed the gap in the second by scoring the final six points before the break. Then, in the third, they came out firing.

Onekama tied the game in the opening minutes of the second half, and by breaking a 27-27 tie, had the lead for good.

With a 37-34 advantage heading into the fourth, the Portagers were able to fend off the Lakers, who looked like a different team down the stretch than in the early stages of the game.

“It was not getting in to get rebounds, not making our passes, and our shooting percentage was probably awful,” Brown said. “It definitely wasn’t what we needed to have tonight. We just weren’t gelling.

“But it can be a lesson to bounce back from.”

For Onekama, close games and comebacks have been part of their strong start to the season, and Bradford said that can only benefit the young team.

“We’ve been working hard, and good things come when you do that,” he said. “The girls are getting more confidence I think, too.

“In those games where we’re down in the stretch, they can always refer back to wins like these where we didn’t quit.”

The Onekama junior varsity team edged Bear Lake Friday night 36-33. The Portagers were led by Emma Putney with 16 points while Alyson Fink and Alycia Peterson led the Lakers with seven apiece. Link to JV Game