The girls basketball season officially began in Plymouth County on Monday night with Gehlen Catholic hosting Kingsley-Pierson for a non-conference matchup. The Panthers picked up their first win with a 68-47 victory over the Jays.
The first game of the season was the Sydney Doeschot show. The freshman made her first high school varsity start and did not miss the opportunity to make a name for herself. She finished with 37 points on 16-25 from the field, six rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Kingsley-Pierson head coach Nicole Goodwin says she got going early, and her teammates kept getting her the ball to make plays.
Doeschot’s performance combined with a stellar K-P defense that recorded 12 steals made things challenging for Gehlen Catholic. Gehlen head coach Brandon Schaecher says the Jays did not match K-P’s intensity with the ball.
From Kingsley-Pierson’s perspective, the Panthers have to be aggressive to be successful. Coach Goodwin says, without height, the Panthers have to be quick and scrappy, and that showed in their win over Gehlen.
The Jays had a bright spot offensively in Miyah Whitehead who recorded 21 points in the loss. Coach Schaecher says he wanted the ball to get down to her more to help open others up to alleviate pressure.
This first game gives both coaches an opportunity to get a good look in a game and figure out what needs to be fixed. The Panthers get a whole week to work on things before they host Lawton-Bronson on the 29th. Coach Goodwin says getting the posts involved more will be an emphasis.
Gehlen Catholic wastes no time getting back on the court and getting on the court in a tough test. The Jays will head to Orange City to take on top-ranked Unity Christian with no rest in between. Coach Schaecher says the pieces are there for the Jays to be successful. The goal now is to get them to fit nicely.
Kingsley-Pierson opens the year 1-0 while Gehlen falls to 0-1. This was Kingsley-Pierson’s first win over Gehlen Catholic in girls basketball in over a decade.
