One half is enough for CG-Belgium

A big first half was enough for the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School girls’ basketball team to top Sheboygan Lutheran on the road last Friday.

The Rockets had three players score in double figures in a 47-36 victory.

Alyssa Mentink scored 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field and 2-for-7 on three-pointers. Alexis Bahr scored 12 points on shooting 4-for-6 from the field and 4-for-5 on free throws. Maddie Sutryke scored 11 points on shooting 5-for-8 from the field and making one of two free throws.

The Rockets came out of the gates storming and had a 28-12 lead by the break.

“We did a really good job in the first half, probably the best we played all year,” coach Jason Jones said.

“It started with our defense. We did a really good job pressuring them and causing them a lot of turnovers.”

Anna Claerbaut made five steals and Shelby Cooney and Mentink each had four. Amy TenHaken had three. Most of the swipes came in the first half, which led to some easy offensive opportunities.

“Hustling on defense turned into offense. We had some nice layups which are always nice to get,” Jones said.

From the 13-minute mark to 2:11 left in the half, the Rockets held the Crusaders to three points.

In the second half, the Crusaders came out with pressure and the Rockets relaxed a little bit.

“The closest they got was eight, which was a little too close for comfort. At the same time, we were able to hold them until the end of the game. Our girls stepped up toward the end,” Jones said.

“We really did focus on trying to come out and play hard. Now if we can just do that for two halves, we’ll be good.”

Cooney, TenHaken, Sutryk and Brooke Braga each had six rebounds.

The Rockets went to 2-3 in the Big East Conference and 4-5 overall. Lutheran is 0-6 in the conference.

The Rockets were to host Kohler (3-2 Big East) on Tuesday and play at non-conference opponent Kewaskum (7-2) on Saturday, July 11. They host Hilbert (2-6) on Tuesday, Jan. 14.