MUSKEGON TWP. - The Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team is still really young, but there have been times, particularly in the last few weeks, when the Rockets have provided glimpses of a bright future.
One of those times came in the first quarter of Friday night's O-K Green matchup at home against Mona Shores, which entered the game tied for first place in the conference.
The Rockets, who feature a lot of freshmen and sophomores in the regular rotation, hit some big shots, snagged some rebounds and played great defense, which all added up to a two-point lead at the first buzzer.
The lead did not hold up, however - even though the great defense did - and the Rockets eventually ended up on the short end of a 40-28 final score at R-P's Dan Beckeman Arena.
R-P's Raquel Walker cruises in for a layup. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Reeths-Puffer fell to 5-12 overall and 3-4 in conference play. Mona Shores improved to 12-5 and 6-1.
After the game, R-P head coach Rodney Walker said he thought the first quarter was a solid effort, but the goal is to keep that up.
The shots stopped falling for the Rockets after the first eight minutes, and R-P did not generate enough offense to steal the victory.
"Our girls are starting to gain more confidence," Walker said. "We're getting there. The discipline is coming. We just have to put four quarters together now."
The Rockets showed from the get-go that they came to play against the far more experienced Sailors.
R-P's Jazz Kops tries to push past a defender. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Mona Shores opened the scoring with a three-pointer 21 seconds into the game, then built leads of 7-2 and 9-4.
Then R-P's Raquel Walker nailed a layup with just over three minutes left, Trinity Moore added a jumper about a minute later, then Walker finished the quarter with a three-pointer, and the Rockets suddenly led 11-9 heading in the second .
R-P's very aggressive defense played a big part in the good quarter, forcing the Sailors to miss three shots and turn the ball over eight times.
The defensive effort continued into the second quarter and the rest of the game, keeping Mona Shores from pulling away.
"One thing we talked about was creating turnovers," Coach Walker said. "We did that. We just weren't able to capitalize on some of those turnovers. If we could have put more balls in the basket the game would have been different."
R-P's Jenna Terpstra breaks through two defenders. Photo/Jeremy Clark
After its good start, the R-P offense took an unfortunate breather in the second quarter, when the Sailors outscored the home team 12-3 to take a 21-14 halftime lead.
The turnover bug bit the Rockets in the second quarter, when they coughed up the ball eight times.
R-P's Savannah Lockwood hit a triple - the Rockets' only field goal of the quarter - with one minute left, making the score 16-14, but the Sailors answered with a three-pointer and layup by Katie Phillips to take the seven-point lead at the break.
The Rockets pulled within three points with another triple from Lockwood about 90 seconds into the third quarter.
The Sailors build their lead back up to 31-20 with just under three minutes left, then an offensive rebound and putback by Moore, and the same thing from Ashlyn David, left the score 32-24 headed into the fourth.
Terpstra brings the ball up the court. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The R-P defense put the clamps down in the final eight minutes, holding the Sailors to just eight points, but the Rocket offense couldn't get over the hump.
Walker hit back-to-back buckets to pull R-P within five points, 33-28, with four minutes left, but those were the home team's final points.
Mona Shores finished off the game with a 7-0 run, with five of those points coming at the free throw line.
Walker finished with 13 points for R-P while Lockwood totaled six. Laynie Russell led Mona Shores with 13 points.