By DAVID COOK
With a roster loaded with talented sophomores and juniors, many experts believed that the Grand Ledge girls basketball team was primed for a good season, but that it was a year away from a great one.
Well, the future arrived a year early for the Comets. Led by the talented backcourt of junior twins Hannah and Lindsay Orwat and sophomore center Cori Crocker, the Comets turned in a strong regular season and a memorable postseason. After finishing the regular season with a 16-4 record, the Comets began the playoffs by stunning East Lansing in the district championship game. They did not stop there, as they took out a loaded Mattawan team in the regional final and gave the eventual Class A state champion everything it wanted in the state quarterfinals before falling 43-35.
“We have a lot of juniors and sophomores, so we needed to grow some confidence during the regular season,” coach David Jones said. “The girls knew they could compete with anybody, and the win over East Lansing was huge for their confidence. It was a great team effort against East Lansing, and that is the type of team we had this season.”
Along with reaching the state quarterfinals, the trio of Crocker and the Orwats also earned all-state honors. Lindsay Orwat and Crocker were both named special mention all-state, while Hannah Orwat was named honorable-mention all-state.
The trio will return next year along with other key contributors like sophomore guard Sophie Guzman, junior guard Lauren Bachert, junior forward Lauren Rambo, and junior forward Codie Drake, and they will have even bigger goals.