SHELBY — On paper, at least, Newaygo seemed like a potential test for Shelby. The Lions came in having taken close losses to White Cloud and Hart squads that didn’t make life easy on the Tigers, either.
Shelby, though, was efficient in all phases, playing dynamic pressure defense, making shots at a high clip and rebounding impressively on the way to a dominant 60-25 win over Newaygo.
Newaygo scored the first and last basket of the first quarter, but those shots bookended a 20-0 scoring run by the Tigers. They shifted seamlessly between different types of defense and didn’t let Newaygo get at all comfortable.
“We came out fresh and pretty quick in the two different presses, and we mixed up our presses,” Shelby coach Sarah Wolting said. “We did our diamond press, then we did our 1-3-1, too. With this group, I can change that and move people around. I think that’s what got them flustered. These girls are really good at playing a zone defense on a make and a man-to-man on a miss. Having that in our back pocket is hard on teams.”
Enviable athleticism defines the Tigers’ lineup, of course, but it’s those basketball smarts that really make Shelby a difficult team to play against, and that 20-0 run displayed both qualities in spades.
Sophomore star Jayna Burmeister, as usual, was the lynchpin of the Tigers’ success, with an exceptionally rare 20/20 game - 20 points and 20 rebounds. She scored 11 first-quarter points and also recorded a team-best four steals, shooting a solid 8-of-20 from the field and swishing two long three-pointers.
Shelby's Ava Lamberg snatches the ball away from Newaygo's Amaya Lathrop after a jump ball was called during Tuesday's game at Shelby. The Tigers rolled to a 60-25 win.
“Especially in games like this, she looked a little bit more to make that pass or to hit the other big girl inside,” Wolting said. “She’s so athletic that she can pass well, score well, shoot well. For someone to play man-to-man against us is hard, because she’s so fluid in all those things.”
Shelby dominated the boards throughout, collecting 44 rebounds to Newaygo’s 24. The Tiger defense also held the Lions to 17% shooting from the field and forced 23 turnovers.
Annabelle Stark had another good game, going for 11 points and eight boards. Michelle Peterson added eight points.
The win sets the Tigers up for what will likely be the best opponent they will face all year in Thursday’s regular-season finale. Unbeaten and Division 2 No. 5-ranked Covenant Christian will host Shelby in that game, and the Chargers should provide exactly what Wolting was looking for when she scheduled that matchup - a high-level opponent to help the Tigers sharpen their game before the postseason.
“It’s going to be a game to play against a really good team,” Wolting said. “We’re looking forward to it. We’ve got to get focused on them, but we’ve got to do what we’ve done all year. It’ll be fun to see how they respond to pressure all the way around and girls as big as us, or that rebound as well as us. It’ll be a test for us, but it’ll be fun.”
