Nate Schneider
Sports Scene
One of the benefits to playing in the Tri-Valley Conference are the crossover games that become a good measuring stick for teams, especially those in the upper portion of the standings.
Such was the case for the Alma girls basketball team on Jan. 26 when it hosted Saginaw Valley Lutheran in a TVC Central-West crossover between two squads positioned in second place in its respective divisions.
The Panthers came into action sporting a 10-1 record, but as it was they suffered their second loss of the season in a heartbreaker to the Chargers by a count of 39-38 in overtime.
Alma head coach Scott Apple put a good amount of blame on himself for the uneven performance.
“I think Valley Lutheran wanted it more than we did,” Apple opened. “There was some confusion on certain plays and at this point of the season, that shouldn’t happen. And there were a couple breakdowns on transition defense. We pride ourselves on good defense and giving up those easy buckets didn’t help at all on a night when buckets were hard to come by. And we failed to execute down the stretch at the free throw line.
“And we took a 30-foot shot at the end when we were only down one point. That’s on me, because I don’t have them disciplined enough. Hopefully this is a wakeup call and a step in the right direction. We need to have some tougher practices.”
Apple went on to also commend the effort of his team in nearly pulling off a last-minute comeback in overtime. After the game went into the extra session at 34-34, neither squad scored until Valley Lutheran scored five points in quick succession to grab a 39-34 advantage with a little over a minute remaining.
The Panthers managed to bring the score within 39-38 and had a chance to win it with one final possession, but the long-range shot was off the mark.
Freshman Alyssa Leister, who leads Alma in scoring this season, put in a team-best 10 points as the only Panther player in double figures.
“These crossover games are great and lets us see where we’re at,” Apple added. “It’s a disappointment because we like to win all our home games, no matter who it is. I thought we let this one get away, but Valley outplayed and outcoached us.”
Alma will go on the road next week for another crossover at TVC East opponent Frankenmuth (Jan. 30) followed by a tilt at Carrollton (Feb. 2). The Panthers return home Feb. 6 for a big 6 p.m. game versus Freeland, which handed them the first of their two defeats.