PRESS CONTACT:
Irene Borak
Director of Public Relations
10775 N. St. Helen Road
Roscommon, MI 48653
(989) 275-5000 ext. 242
ROSCOMMON – Playing on the road against Olivet College on Thursday, Nov. 29, the Kirtland Lady Firebirds basketball team earned a tough 80-67 win over the Comets.
With only seven Kirtland players in uniform, the win was especially gratifying.
“They all really stepped up,” said Kirtland head coach Teresa Stuck. “Our defensive pressure was great. We forced them into many turnovers, both in our press and our half-court. We also rebounded very well.
“Offensively, we finally established somewhat of a post game, and began looking for it – that was a huge plus.”
Stuck was also pleased with the maturity her predominantly freshman team showed. Even though they controlled the game from the beginning – the Firebirds were up by 18 at one point – the Comets cut that lead to within 5 points with five minutes left in the game.
“This was probably the brightest spot of the game,” Stuck noted. “The fact that at this point we didn’t panic and within a couple minutes we pulled ourselves back up to a 14-point lead. They showed maturity. A couple of games ago, that wouldn’t have happened.”
Six of the Firebirds’ seven players were in double digits against Olivet – a total team effort.
Megan Bastian led the way with 14 points, followed by Lizz Stempki and Nadia Blake who had 13 apiece. Natalie Foster dropped in 11; Rena Barnett and Emily Henion each scored 10; and Emilee Bruner rounded off the scoring just one point shy of double digits with 9.