COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – In Branch County high school sports last night, in a Varsity Boys-Girls basketball Interstate Eight Conference doubleheader we had on the radio, it was a sweep for the Coldwater Cardinals at home over Parma Western with the Boys winning over the Panthers 63-51 while the Girls beat Western 49-43. The Boys victory came on the strength of a solid first half with Coldwater leading at the break 35-23 and then staying the course over the last two periods to keep the 12 point spread for the final score. Brady Beckhusen and Cameron Barnes shared our McDonald’s Player of the Game honors for Coldwater. Beckhusen had a game-high 13 points while Barnes added 11 points. Nate Waterbury finished with 10 points for the Cardinals, who remain undefeated at 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference. Coldwater’s next game is Monday night on the road against cross-county rival Bronson.
In the Girls’ six point win, Coldwater held off the Panthers in a scrappy contest that the Cardinals were able to secure because of a no let-up defense that wouldn’t be denied, forcing Western into 38 turnovers. Jamie Wellet had a team-high 12 points and was our Girls McDonald’s Player of the Game for Coldwater. Kendall Galloway added 11 points and 5 steals and Isabella Foley had 10 points. The victory improved the Lady Cardinal’s record to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the I-8. The Girls are off over the Holidays and resume play at home against Kalamazoo Loy Norrix on January 5.
Also in Boys and Girls hoops last night, it was a split for Union City at Athens with the visiting Chargers winning the Boys game 76-37 while the host Indians were victorious in the Girls contest 45-37. The Union City boys were led by Jalen Boes and Elijah Way, each with 19 points while Colin Kreger had 13 points. The win in their Big 8 opener boosted their overall record to 2-1.
Athens rallied to beat the Lady Chargers, outscoring Union City 19-7 in the fourth quarter. Haley Harty had 9 points while Rachel Wing had 8 points and 4 blocked shots. Allison Adams led the way on the boards with 10 rebounds with the loss dropping their record to 1-4 and 0-1 in the conference.
In a Girl’s only game last night, Quincy lost at home to Homer 52-21. The game was tied 11-11 in the second quarter before the visiting Trojans went on a 17-0 run to take charge. Zoe Aseltine had 6 points and 8 rebounds for the Orioles, who slip to 0-4 with the defeat in their conference opener.
Also Friday night, Tekonsha lost their Boys and Girls games at home to North Adams-Jerome. The Indians fell in the Boys contest 60-46 with 14 points for Everett Lewis Lanphar. The visiting Rams won the Girls game 35-16.
Today in high school sports, in wrestling, it’s the Coldwater Classic, including Bronson while Quincy is at the Sturgis Invitational and Union City is at the Eau Claire Invitational.
